


Slippery Friends

by katbear



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Adventure, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Mission Fic, Other, strange new friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25131967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katbear/pseuds/katbear
Summary: Qui-Gon gains an unexpected friend on a mission, but not everybody is happy about it.
Relationships: Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn/Other(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19
Collections: Con*Strict 2020 Virtual Zine





	Slippery Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Story was written for the virtual ConStrict of 2020.  
> Thanks to Saddlebred for the quick beta. All errors definitely my own because I kept tweaking things. ;-}

"This is odd." Qui-Gon read the terse message again. "Take a look."

Obi-Wan sat back in the pilot's seat and examined the flimsy. One eyebrow went up as he began noting sections aloud. "Hmm… ship diverted to quarantine area…urgent you not speak to anyone before we meet… Staltef." He paused a moment. "Staltef? She's the secretary on their local planetary governing council, right?"

Qui-Gon nodded. "I'm beginning to suspect that this might not be the routine mission we were promised." He sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I really was hoping for something quiet for a change. My arm still aches from where it was broken during that last fiasco."

The Republic Senator from Klaon, the Honorable Laton Welb, had requested Jedi assistance in negotiating an internal planetary treaty concerning the control of a newly discovered massive lode of the rare mineral noectin, a catalytic metal highly valued in many manufacturing processes. The Senator had assured them it should not be difficult – he knew the people involved and they were good, concerned citizen leaders - and the Jedi would primarily serve as facilitators to keep things moving smoothly. The Mission Council had given the job to Master Jinn and his senior padawan, since this seemed well within their area of expertise and their previous four missions had been beset with remarkably cantankerous beings and many explosions. 

Obi-Wan tossed the flimsy onto the control panel, then leaned back with his hands behind his head. "Definitely unusual, but perhaps something has come up since we left Coruscant. We're only a few hours out, so at least we don't have long to wait."

*** *** ***

The Jedi's ship arrived at Klaon that afternoon, or at least it was late afternoon at the main starport. They had taken three surreptitious trips around the planet before requesting permission to land. Those orbits confirmed their briefing information – Klaon had one very large continent, three smaller ones and some large island groups. There were broad swaths of forest, agricultural land, and jungle interspersed with a few significant desert areas, several very high mountain ranges and many wide rivers. A few dozen cities, what appeared to be several industrial areas and numerous small towns were scattered about.

The starport and adjoining speeder park were twenty miles from the capitol city. It was a sprawling expanse hacked from the edge of a jungle; they were directed to set their small ship down in a fenced-off area along the northern edge. They gathered their packs and exited. A private flyer was just settling down a hundred feet away, so they waited until a woman got out, then headed toward her.

"Ser Jedi, welcome to Klaon. I am Secretary Leesha Staltef. I hope you had a pleasant journey." Leesha was about Obi-Wan's height, an older woman dressed in loose, light-colored clothing against the heat. Long, dark gray hair was tied back, her skin was medium brown and her gray-green eyes twinkled.

"An uneventful journey, which is often the best kind." Qui-Gon gave a small smile. "I am Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and this is Senior Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi." Both Jedi bowed. "We are here to assist with discussions about your new noectin resource."

"Ah, yes, about that…" Leesha shook her head. "Things are a bit complicated. We need to talk about the situation, so I've taken the liberty of kidnapping you, so to speak. There are no meetings scheduled until tomorrow afternoon, so we'll be going to my compound for dinner and you can stay there tonight. This way, if you please."

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan exchanged brief glances; this seemed highly irregular, but no violence or skullduggery seemed imminent. And she was a planetary official… although in their experience, high office was not always a sign of pure, ethical intentions. Qui-Gon gave the tiniest of shrugs and they followed in her path.

Leesha offered only basic pleasantries and sightseeing tips as she piloted their craft. The flyer was fast; in a half hour they were landing on a private pad that already held two small flyers and a larger vehicle. The thirty-acre compound was on a hill overlooking a river. The main house had two wings and they had glimpsed large grounds and a pool behind the house as they flew in; the whole was surrounded by tall white block fencing to keep the jungle out. A faint shimmer along the outer edge of the walls indicated the presence of an energy field of some sort, presumably to keep wildlife away.

The Jedi were taken to a two-bedroom suite and given some time to freshen up, then were escorted out to a partially enclosed veranda for dinner. A cool breeze was beginning to relieve some of the swelter the afternoon had brought.

"The accommodations are very nice and greatly appreciated, Sera Staltef." Qui-Gon took a small bite of crisp melon. "Will we be staying here for our entire visit or going somewhere in the city?"

"We can make whatever arrangements you prefer. This is my family compound, but most of our people are away for different reasons such as school or travel. I can make a flyer available for your use during your visit."

"Again, your offer is very much appreciated.” Qui-Gon relaxed a bit as it seemed clear they could leave whenever they wanted. “It would be helpful, though, to understand our situation better. You have yet to explain what the 'complications' are."

"Right, I do need to do that. I’m assuming that you have been briefed on our government structure and political situation?"

"Yes, we were," Obi-Wan replied. "Planetary level is essentially a loose confederation, with ten at-large planetary councilors plus significant power still held by the individual state representatives in your general assembly, yes? And we are supposed to help develop a consensus on what is to be done with the new mineral development?"

"Your understanding of the governing structure is correct, although in this particular situation one of our independent indigenous populations is involved. And yes, a consensus is needed because the lode potentially underlies parts of three countries and one of the major indigenous reserves, plus it is upstream of the largest freshwater river on the planet. This is perhaps both the biggest potential economic and greatest pollution opportunity we've had since last century, so there has been a great deal of public interest." Leesha stopped and they could see muscles working in her jaw for a moment. "Ser Jedi, I've decided to be very blunt about the problem you present. The people of Klaon are proud of our planet, proud of the economy we've created and are not fond of outsiders if they perceive them as interfering in our affairs. I have talked to many people since I found out you were coming, and, quite frankly, nobody wants you here and nobody wants you involved in the discussions."

"I must confess to a certain amount of confusion," said Qui-Gon mildly. His well-schooled features did not show the surprise he felt. "Not only do we have the warrant from the Republic to facilitate the discussions, but we spoke to Senator Welb personally before we left and he was quite enthusiastic about our participation. Has something changed to invalidate our mission here?"

"Well, no, not really." She gave a rueful laugh. "There are a few things you need to be aware of. Laton Welb is a nice person, he's from a wealthy family and he really wants to do good things for the planet. Laton Welb is also a gossip, a social butterfly, will talk your arm and both legs off, and, since we're being honest, he can be very 'enthusiastic', but is not the brightest star in the constellation about the things he enthuses over. Not got much common sense, either. Laton Welb is in the Republic Senate because everybody got tired of him running around trying to interfere with things here. We sent a couple of our best people with him as aides to make sure he didn't screw anything up too badly, but it sounds like Laton somehow did an end run around them to get you involved."

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan looked at each other and grimaced. "I think I see where this is going," said Qui-Gon, "but we are here and have a job we're supposed to do."

"I do appreciate that, but you need to know that right now a lot of people are ticked off because they see your presence as just ‘Laton being Laton’ again and sticking his nose in where it oughtn't be. We're going to have figure out how to make them listen long enough to realize that you are NOT Laton or one of his lackeys, that you are neutral and that you might actually be useful." She gave a small grimace of her own. “We have generally good relations with the Republic, and I don’t want to risk endangering those by kicking out Jedi officially sent by the Republic.”

"I think I understand your position, but you said 'we' need to work on this. If it's not impertinent, may I ask just what you do as secretary of the planetary council that makes you an interested player in all this?" Obi-Wan was gently swirling the wine in his glass and using his smoothest tone. "Our briefing information was a bit vague about your job description."

"Good catch." Leesha grinned and raised her glass. "That's the way I deliberately wrote it. I'm a full member of the Council, but I serve a ten-year term instead of a five-year term, and have been re-elected twice. The office is non-partisan and I can vote, but primarily I keep things in order. Not to brag too loudly, but my family is one of the oldest, biggest and wealthiest on this whole damned planet. I have relatives and connections on every continent and in just about every state. I consider myself one of the few people on the Council who is truly neutral and wants what is good for the planet. After all, if it's good for the planet, it's going to be good for at least some part of my family, right?"

Both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan laughed.

"A refreshingly honest viewpoint," said Qui-Gon. "I think we can work together."

*** *** ***

During dinner, Leesha got the Jedi up to speed on the players in the mining issue who would be part of the group delegated to come up with an initial proposal, using one of the wall displays to show maps and pictures of people. There were the ones who wanted to maximize the output for money (for themselves, their state or the planet), the ones downstream who had issues about water pollution, given the potentially lethal waste products, and the indigenous leaders who claimed that part of the lode should be off limits because it ran under their cemeteries and spiritual centers. There were also individuals representing various countries who wanted to go slow and mine responsibly, but had not officially aligned with a specific group. Any resolution of the problems would require agreement from several individual countries, plus the Planetary Council. 

They agreed to take a break after the main meal, then adjourn dessert and further planning to the pool, as it was still quite warm. 

Several laps in the water were delightfully refreshing; equally so were the fruit sherbets and lightly carbonated citrus waters. By now, the three of them were on a first-name basis; the casual atmosphere helped by the fact that they were all in swimming garb as they lounged in the shallow end of the pool.

"I think the best approach would be to wait another day before you come to the capitol," said Leesha. "That would give me time to try to set up a session for late morning that would essentially be a presentation of credentials followed by an informal lunch. The message I want to develop is that you may have been sent by the Republic, but you are here to help US, not the Republic."

"And with as little mention of Senator Welb as possible." Qui-Gon accepted a small bowl of a new flavor sherbet from a server.

Leesha laughed. "You are definitely an experienced negotiator, Qui-Gon."

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to add a comment, but stopped abruptly. On the pool deck, the lid on a soft leather bag near their hostess had flipped open. A moment later, a lizard came out, yawned widely, then waddled leisurely across a tile and put its front legs on Leesha's upper arm where it lay along the edge of the pool. It was thirteen inches long, of which at least five were its tail, and the mottled greyish skin seemed to be slowly changing color to match Leesha's skin.

Both Jedi watched in fascination as the lizard trilled, a soft chirruping that ended on a high note. Leesha nuzzled its face and chirped back. She took a spoonful of sherbet and let the lizard slurp some. After it apparently had its fill of the treat, the lizard carefully climbed up onto Leesha and settled itself into the base of her neck.

Leesha fondly scratched its neck, a tender smile on her lips and in her eyes.

"Do you feel it?" whispered Obi-Wan to his master.

"Like a warm little ripple in the Force?"

"Something like that, yes."

Qui-Gon nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Leesha, may I ask you a question?"

She blinked a few times. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you." Leesha smiled. "I suppose you want to inquire about Chago?"

"If Chago is the lizard, then yes. Obi-Wan and I felt a faint movement in the Force when you appeared to be communicating with it, so we were wondering if you, it or both of you are Force-sensitive. There was no mention that animals might have Force capability in our mission briefing, only a warning that there are strict laws about exporting certain types of wildlife."

"I don't know anything about the Force, other than it has something to do with Jedi." There was a slight furrow in her brow for a moment. "But creatures like Chago are the reason for the prohibitions, which are directed primarily at preventing export of reptiles."

Chago lifted its head, as if recognizing its name. Shiny black eyes stared at the two Jedi for several seconds before it tucked its stubby snout back into Leesha's neck.

"Are they sentient?" asked Obi-Wan. "And why only reptiles?"

"Chago is a Companion. Among our various reptilian species, and only reptiles, a small number exhibit an ability to communicate with our people in a limited form, primarily with emotions and images, although that connection becomes stronger and clearer the longer the pair is together. I'm not sure you could consider them as being fully sentient, as many reptiles can be domesticated but don't become Companions. They are highly prized because their affection cannot be coerced – the animal chooses a person, never the other way around. To be chosen is considered a high honor and a sign of good character. It is a great responsibility, of course, but very rewarding."

"You said they communicate with your people. Have there ever been any relationships formed with offworlders?"

"None that we know of. We don't advertise this sort of thing, but occasionally offworlders have learned of it and tried." Leesha grinned. "They are as bad as the children who wander about trying to find snakes and lizards and gaze soulfully into the eyes of anything they can get to sit still, which I have always suspected greatly annoyed the poor things. We've had a number of instances where idiots have been bitten by poisonous reptiles because they didn't know any better."

"It sounds fascinating, but we will promise not to go chasing around the jungle looking for scaly creatures," said Obi-Wan dryly. 

"That's good. Oh, yes, Companions like to be close to their person, so you might see some during the negotiations. As a point of etiquette, it is not considered polite to touch or ask about a Companion unless either the person or the Companion make a first overture or mention."

"Thank you for that information," said Qui-Gon. "Given that we seem to have an uphill task to become accepted, I'd not want to commit a faux pas in that regard." He hesitated a moment, but Leesha seemed disinclined to discuss the topic any further. "We should get back to our planning."

An hour later, they had moved to a table near the pool and put on light tunics. The breeze that was welcome earlier was turning colder; half-empty cups of tea littered the table.

"I think that should about do it for tonight." Leesha was checking messages on her pad. "It looks like the request I sent out earlier has been approved, so we'll be doing the initial meeting day after tomorrow at eleventh hour, then lunch. I need to go in early for a bit in the morning to meet people on other issues, but I should return here by second hour and we can talk some more. I have a conference room here you can use if you want to go over the maps and people profiles while I'm gone. It also has comm capability if you need to send any messages back to Coruscant."

"That would be very welcome."

Everyone stood up and stretched, then the Jedi walked over to where they had left their robes on a lounger.

As Qui-Gon lifted his robe, something in the hood moved. As Qui-Gon threw the robe several feet away from him, both Jedi jumped back and crouched defensively, hands reaching for lightsabers that had been left in their quarters.

"Is there a problem?" Leesha came over and stood next to them. Chago lifted its head and looked toward the mound of fabric.

"I don't know. Something moved when I picked up my robe." Qui-Gon and his padawan straightened, both still keeping a wary eye out as the robe shifted.

"This is odd. We don't generally get any wildlife inside here except for birds." Leesha pulled a communicator from a pocket of her tunic and thumbed it on. "Riki, we may have an animal intruder. Please do a quick run of the surveillance tapes for the wall behind the pool area, then bring the keys to Gate 14. If there is something in here, we'll want to put it back outside the wall."

Within four minutes a burly young man arrived carrying two animal control rope-loop sticks, two sizes of nets and a heavy leather bag. He wore leather chaps, heavy boots, a canvas long-sleeved shirt, gauntlets and a helmet with a clear face shield. 

"Looks like we might actually have something, ma'am. There was a little blip over the wall about thirty minutes ago." Riki grinned. "Where do you think it is?"

Qui-Gon pointed to his robe. "Something moved when I picked that up."

"Alrighty, I'll give it a look-see." 

Riki gingerly probed the rumpled heap with a stick for a moment, then grabbed an edge and pulled. A snake slithered out, about a foot and a half long, deep black with silver elongated diamond shapes along her body and an offwhite jaw. He snagged it with a rope loop, a treatment it did not seem to like as it gave a rough growl.

"Hey, there, little thing. It's okay." Riki gathered it in and held it in two hands, keeping a firm grip around the base of its head. "It's a young trifler, ma'am."

"That's alright then." Leesha looked at Qui-Gon. "They are very low level venomous, barely enough to put down small rodents and not poisonous for people unless you're allergic. Triflers are much rarer than biflers," she gestured to Riki to hold the snake up, "as they have three eyes instead of two."

The snake did indeed have three shiny eyes of steel gray, two on the sides of its head and one embedded in a small ridge on top.

"Are they otherwise dangerous?" Qui-Gon seemed to be itching to pet the snake, but at Obi-Wan's glare the master kept his distance.

"No, but they are quite useful for helping keep down the rodent and vermin population. Triflers are also interesting – the name means three-eyed flying snake. They, and the biflers, have an unusual structural feature that allows them to flatten their body and glide. Riki, please put the poor dear back outside the fence."

"Righto." Riki let the snake coil around one arm as he walked over, unlocked the gate, then went through. He returned quickly and locked the gate behind him.

"Well, sorry about the unexpected excitement." Leesha shrugged. "One of the hazards of living this close to the jungle is the occasional visitor. Let's go inside."

They gathered robes and had made it to the end of the pool when Riki called out. "Ma'am, look out. I think it's trying to come back."

A flat S-shaped object glided in from the treetops beyond the compound. It landed near the edge of the grass, expanded its body back to a round shape and quickly slithered to coil itself up in front of Qui-Gon.

"What the hell…" Leesha stared at the snake for a long moment before she barked a curse. "Master Jinn, did you do anything to try to attract the snake with that Force thing of yours?"

"Absolutely not." Qui-Gon put a hand on his heart. "My word as a Jedi. I didn't even know the snake existed before this."

Leesha gave him a squint-eyed look before sighing. "Maybe it's just a particularly stupid snake. Riki, I want surveillance footage of that thing coming in here on its own and you putting it back out. Try it again."

Twice more, Riki put the snake out, further and further each time. Within minutes, the snake would launch itself from the tall trees and ride the breeze back over the wall. Every time, it headed for Qui-Gon Jinn. They tried it once more, sending Qui-Gon inside first. This time, it crossed the wall, made it to the door and raised up almost its full length, uttering guttural growls and hisses of seeming frustration. 

"Well, fuck." Leesha stood, hands on hips, as Chago chirped at her. "Yes, dammit, I know what I'm seeing. That doesn't mean I like it." She took a deep breath. "Qui-Gon, please come out here and sit at the table."

The snake followed Qui-Gon and found its way up to the top. It coiled its body at the edge and stared at Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon sat very still, hands at his sides. "Could you explain what's going on?" He stared back at the snake.

"Riki, I want all the surveillance tapes and a statement from you about what you've seen here. And if you breathe one word of any of this to anybody, I will personally come after you with a dull knife to cut off your balls."

Riki grinned. "You got it, ma'am. Not a word." He saluted jauntily and left.

Leesha sighed. "It seems that it might actually be possible for an outsider to connect with a Klaon reptile."

"I do feel a bit of Force activity, although it’s not got quite the same ‘feel’ as what I’m used to," said Obi-Wan mildly, his face a clearly controlled mask of neutrality that belied the sparkle in his eyes. "It seems very intent on you, Master. Don't you sense anything at all?"

The muscles in Qui-Gon's jaw jumped as he clenched it, probably thinking about repercussions of an outsider joining with a forbidden creature and trying to determine how much of his hide the Council was likely to rip off for what appeared to have all the makings of a major dispute. He took a very deep breath and let it out slowly before replying, keeping his gaze on the snake. "I do feel a certain level of what seems to be a form of Force projection." He risked a glance at Leesha before continuing. "Ummm…. she says her name is Shamas. What should I do?"

"Bloody fucking hell, that tears it if she’s named herself to you." Leesha put Chago down on the table. "Chago, dearest, can you get any sense from that idiot snake?" She pulled her communicator out. "Riki, you're getting all this, right? All copies go only to me." She gave an exasperated grimace and went to kneel by the table.

"Chago? Talk to me, little one." Leesha held out a hand and Chago trundled over to climb up her arm and perch by her shoulder. He gave a series of high-pitched trills and chirps, which just served to make Leesha's expression very glum. She scratched Chago's neck and went to sit in the chair opposite Qui-Gon.

Obi-Wan, through all of this, seemed to find the transpiring events quite amusing.

"She won't leave, will she?" asked Qui-Gon.

"Unfortunately, it seems she has decided, for whatever reasons, that she wants you." Leesha pointed to a cabinet near the door. "Obi-Wan, could you get me a bottle from there. Any of the blue ones will do fine." She waited until she had the bottle, unscrewed the lid, and took a deep draught. She looked at Qui-Gon, shook her head, then took another couple of gulps.

"So what happens next?"

"My life gets very damned complicated and difficult, that's what happens next." Another deep swallow, followed by a heavy sigh. "Oh, for… put your hand out on the table, then don't move."

Qui-Gon did as he was bid. 

The snake gave a joyous wiggle, zipped up Qui-Gon's arm and coiled around his neck, with her head near one of his ears. She hissed a few times, gave a small raspy growl, then settled in.

"She likes me." Qui-Gon's face had an infatuated smile that didn't waver even as his padawan snickered.

"Congratulations, Master Qui-Gon Jinn. You are the first offworlder, ever, to have a Companion." Leesha tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes. "I thought you Jedi were supposed to resolve incidents, not become an incident."

"Ummmm… well…" Qui-Gon flushed and shrugged his shoulders sheepishly as Obi-Wan did little to repress a loud snigger.

*** *** ***

They went inside to the Jedi's quarters. Leesha brought two more blue bottles.

Qui-Gon and Leesha sat on the couch in their common area while Obi-Wan went to the desk to look up information about the snake's species.

"Alright, first and foremost," Leesha paused for a drink, "you cannot let anyone know you have a Companion until we sort out how to handle this. Right now, you are a planetary explosion just waiting to happen, understand?"

"Right." Qui-Gon's expression was quite besotted as he scratched Shamas's head. "Nobody is to know."

"The quick and dirty intro is that our snakes are cold-blooded, so I'll get you a thermal bag to keep her in when you travel. She's going to want to stay close to you, especially for the first few months. She will want to sleep in your bed, but if you get her a heated box she will stay in that sometimes. They sleep a lot, typically fourteen to twenty hours a day, although not necessarily consecutively. They are low maintenance in terms of not needing a lot of food, and they don't excrete very often. The communication ability will improve the longer you are together." She paused for a drink and to eye Shamas. "She looks to be about a year, maybe a year and a half old, so that's still pretty young. She could easily live another ten to fifteen years and will continue to grow, although quite slowly once she hits about three feet. So, you realize that this is a long-term commitment, right?" 

"Ten to fifteen years?" Qui-Gon looked a little rattled by that thought. "That's going to take some work to sort out." He looked at the snake, his expression changing to determination. "I will figure it out and take good care of her."

"This is interesting, Master," called Obi-Wan. "She has an actual vocal cord, so she can make that growly noise and a sort of shriek in addition to hissing. It also says that as a defensive measure, she should be able to do cloacal popping."

"Do what?"

"They can fart, Master." Obi-Wan had a huge grin. "It's a popping sound by forcefully pushing air out of vents in their back end. That ought to make for some interesting Council meetings."

"No, I don't even want to think about the Council right now." Qui-Gon gave a little groan. "It sounds like we'll have enough problems just getting off this planet in one piece."

"I don't suppose you could stay here on Klaon?" asked Leesha hopefully.

"I'm afraid not. We have to return to Coruscant after we finish this mission." Qui-Gon carefully turned his head to look at Leesha. "How is this going to impact the discussions for the noectin treaty?"

"The noectin…. Double FUCK." Leesha took two long drinks before throwing her hands up in the air. "Why me? Of all the miserable fucking political mudholes I could get thrown into, why this one? Gods know I have tried to do an honest job of wrangling all the idiots all these years, so who did I piss off up there to dump this shit on me?"

"I'm sorry to be such a problem. It was never my intention." 

"Not your fault. Stupid snake is gonna do what it wants to do." Leesha's words were starting to slur a little. She petted Chago, who was still on her shoulder, snugged into her neck. "C'mon, dear, we've got some thinking to do tonight." She pointed a finger at Qui-Gon. "Please do not leave these rooms until I fetch you tomorrow. I'll have food sent up."

"Understood."

Leesha heaved herself up, took a firm hold of the bottles, and headed for the door. The Jedi heard a stream of curses as the door closed behind her.

*** *** ***

The Jedi spent several more hours searching the local networks, looking for information related to Companions, laws, export procedures, traditions and care of triflers.

Qui-Gon pushed back from the terminal a little after second hour. His prodigious yawn did not seem to disturb the snake still wrapped around his neck.

"I think I understand why Leesha is so unhappy. It looks like this Companion thing goes back centuries to the early indigenous peoples, well before the first colonists from offworld about three hundred years ago, who gradually took over. And she was right, there's no recorded instance in the last two hundred years of a non-Klaonan getting one."

"I'm just as concerned about what will happen if she is able to get this thing sorted out so you can take Shamas with us. Seems like it's a very strong bond and Companions apparently don't do well if they are separated from their person for more than a few days."

"It doesn't feel like a strong bond, at least at this point, certainly not nearly as strong as our training bond." Qui-Gon scratched Shamas's head. "I'm wondering if that's part of the lore and traditions, or if the bond does get that much stronger over time. In any event, we have more immediate problems and getting some sleep is my next step."

Riki rolled in a cart the next morning that had a bountiful breakfast. He pulled a small box from a pocket. "Good morning. Brought food for you and a small mouse for the little girl if she's hungry. And Miss Leesha sent word she hopes to be back by mid-day."

After eating, Obi-Wan suggested they put the mouse in the large tub in the bathroom so it couldn't escape if Shamas didn't want it. It turned out that Shamas not only wanted the mouse, but was remarkably quick, capturing and downing her prey in one swift strike. She then wanted back up on Qui-Gon's neck to go to sleep.

The next few hours were spent reviewing their actual mission again; they went over the maps, the people profiles, the extensive set of noectin-related research reports they had brought with them and the initial plans they had made the previous evening, although it was no longer clear if those plans could be used.

Riki appeared at thirteenth hour with a bigger cart holding lunch for three. Leesha came in as he was setting the table and plunked down on an armchair. She looked tired and her eyes were bloodshot. She stayed silent until Riki left, although Chago gave a few chipper trills.

"Qui-Gon, how is Shamas?"

"Good. She ate a mouse this morning and has been sleeping ever since." He petted the lump in the front of his tunics, just above his belt, where the snake had nestled about mid-morning.

"And how are you?"

"Me?" Qui-Gon raised one eyebrow. "Anxious about how to resolve the situation, but otherwise normal. I think. Should I not be?"

"Mmmm. Before we start eating, I need you to do something. Leave Shamas here, then go downstairs to the front door and come back."

Qui-Gon hesitated a moment, both eyebrows up, then rose. He carefully removed Shamas from his tunics and put her on the couch. She curled into a ball, head tucked under a fold. Qui-Gon gave her a light pat, then headed for the door.

As he walked the long hallways, Qui-Gon began to feel an odd tickle in the back of his head. By the time he got to the main door, the tickle was turning into a tiny but sharp poke, a feeling that he had lost something and needed to find it. It lost intensity as he returned to the rooms, although it did not entirely go away.

When Qui-Gon opened the door, there was a small, black figure on the floor just inside. It raised up and gave a gargled shriek. He quickly knelt down and offered Shamas a hand – she slithered up and disappeared inside his tunics.

"Shamas, hey, that tickles." Qui-Gon twitched until Shamas settled into that spot just above his belt again and apparently went back to sleep.

"So, notice anything while you were out?" Leesha had snagged a large mug of tea and was holding it between her hands.

"I did. The further away I got, the more I had a sensation like a sharp little tap, a feeling that I had lost something and needed to go find it."

Leesha nodded slowly. "That is confirmation, then. The two of you are linked. We'll just have to make people accept that fact."

Over lunch, Leesha described the strategy she had come up with. They now had two major issues to resolve, the noectin treaty and getting recognition of the Companion relationship between Qui-Gon and Shamas so he could get an export permit for her.

"We can't hide Shamas away for very long, and there will be a great deal of anger and outrage when people find out – those emotions are going to override any interest in a mineral discussion. I have looked through our laws and Council procedural rules and I believe I've found a way to force a conclusion on the noectin before we tackle the Companion issue. I've had to call in some favors without letting them know what I'm really planning, but I'll worry about that later."

"As Secretary of your General Assembly, do you have actual power to dictate an agenda?" asked Qui-Gon.

"Not quite, but I've convinced the President that it will help move the noectin discussion along faster if we can declare what is called a 'single issue special session'. It's rarely used, but basically it means that only the single issue is open for discussion and must be resolved before the session can be adjourned and we can go back to other business. We will use part of our original plan to introduce you tomorrow for presentation of credentials for this single issue, followed by lunch to give you a chance to mingle, then hopefully start the actual discussion after having established ground rules for your participation."

"That participation being essentially as neutral observers with the right to ask questions and restate what we think we're hearing, but not actively participating in the discussions," said Obi-Wan. "At least that's what I remember us deciding last night."

"Yes. I know that's kind of tricky, but there's going to be pushback on you being there at all. I think we can keep it down to a low grumble if we emphasize that you are Jedi who were assigned this task by your leaders at the request of the Republic Senate."

"And we try to minimize any references to Senator Welb," added Qui-Gon.

"If possible, although I suspect it will definitely come up. The second part of my strategy requires that you keep Shamas invisible for at least a few days."

"Just what are you hoping to have happen?"

"If things go as I want, we'll get started on the noectin discussion; it will likely go very slowly with no progress initially. About day three, you will 'accidentally' reveal Shamas; we'll have to figure that out. A trifler is unusual and very definitely a Klaon reptile, so I'm assuming it won't take long for at least a few people to figure out something strange is going on with you and her. You casually announce that Shamas came in from the jungle and chose you as her Companion and then all hell breaks loose."

"Well, that's a situation to which we are not entirely unaccustomed," said Obi-Wan dryly.

"Indeed." Qui-Gon grimaced. "Presumably there won't be any actual explosions?"

"I don't think so." Leesha gave a wry grin. "But it will definitely get very loud."

*** *** ***

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, hoods of their robes up, sat to one side of the large room as the sub-committee of the Planetary General Assembly convened in special session. There were twenty-five primary people present – the President, Secretary, three of the Planetary Councilors, sixteen of the twenty-four representatives of various state governments and, for this special session, not only the Consolidated Tribal Representative but three additional tribal members from the lands potentially impacted by new mining activities. There were also some engineers and scientists supporting various groups.

Qui-Gon discreetly surveyed the room. The Klaonans were a mixed bunch, over half male, all humanoid but varying skin colors from light tan to the noticeably darker brown of the tribals. There had already been several suspicious glances tossed their way; he noted those who seemed most displeased. He paid particular attention to identifying those who had Companions. Including Leesha, there were eleven with visible Companions, mostly various sorts of lizards and three snakes (all three snakes were with Whedin tribal representatives).

A small wiggle against his side reminded him of his own Companion. Leesha had provided a fur-lined thermal bag with a heater; it had a shoulder strap and was currently hidden under his robe. Shamas moved once more, then seemed to settle back into sleep. It seemed that feeding her first thing in the morning seemed to result in her sleeping most of the day. Qui-Gon resisted the urge to pat the bag.

At the stroke of tenth hour, a gong sounded, one deep reverberating tone. Everyone settled into their seats and looked toward the head of the table.

President Guthy Brin was a tall, imposing figure. Short hair and close-cropped beard were shot with gray; his eyes were a blue so dark they were almost black. He had chosen to dress in dark trousers and simple tunic. Next to a stack of datapads on the table in front of him, there was a dark brown bag which could have been either a messenger bag or possibly a carrier for a Companion.

"Welcome, everyone." Brin paused a moment to ensure all attention was focused on him. "We are here today for an unusual gathering outside of our normal schedule. The ongoing survey of the recently discovered noectin deposit appears to show it as an exceptionally long and deep vein, branching sections of which have been detected under several states, as well as the Whedin tribal lands. Although this could be an economic boon for many, informal discussions have also surfaced significant concerns about the development of this resource, and I have been informed that there is increasing pressure from some sides to start extraction. Due to the potential impact, I sent out notifications yesterday that I am convening our discussion as a single issue special session. Under the rules for this type of session, the only topics allowed are those related to the development of a planetary agreement for noectin development, which will then be sent to the full General Assembly and tribal governments for review. If there is no initial agreement within ten days, or at the President's discretion, the session will go into continuous seclusion until an initial draft is passed. Are there any objections to this special session?" Brin looked at each person in turn; a few looked skeptical, a few more were frowning, but no one was willing to speak. "We shall proceed. Secretary Staltef, please note in the records that the noectin single issue special session was convened without objection. Let us move to the first agenda item before individual members begin their presentations."

"Right, about that first thing. Why are there Jedi here? Is this another stupid move from Laton?"

There were several mutters of agreement around the table.

"The Jedi are here at the direction of their Council, in response to a request from the Republic Senate," said Brin. "Master Jinn, if you could clarify your presence here?"

"Thank you, President Brin." Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan rose, pushed their hoods back and moved to stand at the table. "I am Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and this is Senior Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi." He handed a data chip to Leesha. "These are our credentials and our warrant. The Jedi Order received a request from the Senate to assist in facilitation of the Klaon discussions of their newly discovered noectin. That request was signed by the Chancellor of the Senate."

"Right," came a sarcastic drawl. "Betcha Laton got him to do that." More muttering came from others.

"If I may continue?" Qui-Gon waited a moment until Brin quieted the group. "I am here at the direction of my superiors in support of the Republic. I do not have a relationship with or report to any individual member of the Senate. I would like to point out that there are many members of the Republic who are very interested in the possibility of obtaining noectin as it is a critical element in important manufacturing processes, which might have led to a hope that you will begin mining it sooner rather than later. If you wish, we can provide information on the most likely buyers before we leave Klaon." Qui-Gon paused a brief moment, long enough to catch the spark of interest from three of the state representatives. "In the meantime, we are here and have a job we were ordered to do."

"What do you see that 'job' as encompassing?" asked Brin.

"As the senior Jedi in charge of this mission, I have a certain degree of latitude in determining how we may best be of assistance to you." Qui-Gon ignored the jab of humor from Obi-Wan over their bond. "We were ordered here to be facilitators, not dictators or enforcers. The purpose of a facilitator is to make an action or process easier. We listen, we are a sounding board, we rephrase what we think we are hearing, we ask questions to hopefully clarify. If you have questions about Republic issues such as law or business, we will try to get answers for you.” Qui-Gon paused and let one corner of his mouth quirk into a partial smile. “If you need a target to vent anger, you can use us instead of each other. Both of us have thick skins.” He raised his hands briefly in all-compassing gesture. “We have no vested interest for any particular side, but we do want to see a useful compromise come out of this process that lets all parties get at least some part of what they need. Our job is to help you; let us be the grease that helps the engine run more smoothly.” He bowed his head toward Brin, then he and Obi-Wan sat down.

“Well, that certainly sounds reasonable to me.” Brin paused a moment as he squinched one eye. “Um, you don’t pontificate or give long-winded speeches, do you?”

“Not unless you want us to.” Qui-Gon gave a self-deprecating little laugh. “Not to brag, but if somebody is having trouble sleeping, I can pontificate or speechify for them at great length without saying anything of significance.”

There were several snickers and a few outright guffaws around the table. Knowing grins passed among several, and Qui-Gon heard a muttered, “yeah, that’s Latron’s specialty.”

“Excellent.” Brin cleared the smile from his face. “Very well then, does anybody object to the Jedi’s participation as facilitators? They can hear everything we discuss, ask or answer questions, mediate road bumps, but not dictate terms.” Brin looked around the table, giving everyone time to respond, perhaps glancing at a few of the participants a little sternly, but nobody spoke. “Secretary Staltef, please note in the records that the credentials of Jedi Master Jinn and Jedi Senior Padawan Kenobi have been accepted and they will participate in this session as facilitators.”

“So noted, sir.” Leesha typed briefly and pressed a button on a datapad. “Entered in the verbal and written record.”

"Ser Jedi, let me extend an official welcome to our proceedings."

Both Jedi bowed and sat down. Qui-Gon saw a few faces with half-hearted glares and gave a passing thought to wondering how much arm-twisting Leesha had done to achieve such a quick acceptance of their presence as he carefully adjusted his robe to disguise the presence of Shamas's carrier. 

“With that out of the way, let’s get down to business.” Brin waited as Staltef pushed some buttons, which resulted in several maps of various scales appearing on wall screens. The largest wall screen immediately behind him showed text. “I will kick things off with an overview of the problem, then each of the groups who registered as impacted parties will have twenty minutes to make their initial presentation. I will remind everyone that this first round is strictly introductory, no questions allowed, and you will all have opportunities to go over points in depth as we proceed to the second round of presentations.”

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan listened intently while managing to appear to be casually interested. Based on their previous meetings with Leesha, there were no surprises. 

The President, the Planetary Councilors, four state representatives, and, of course, Leesha, had not aligned with any of the ‘impacted parties’, which made them initially neutral but with the ability to weigh in on any of the issues. Several of those had what Qui-Gon considered the 'take it slowly' approach.

All of the tribal members were solidly together, their position being that there should be no infringement whatsoever on tribal territories. The three Whedin members had apparently ceded initial leadership of their effort to the planetary level consolidated tribal member, a broad-shouldered man named Katoron. His dark red hair was liberally sprinkled with grey.

Seven countries were in the ‘start mining now’ contingent. Three of them had the bulk of the significant deposits. The other four had other major existing mineral resources, which meant they had extensive mining and refining infrastructure with experienced miners and engineers which only two of the noectin countries came anywhere near matching. The contingent leader was a middle-aged woman with a smoothly polished manner underlaid with a hint of steel. Theora Jolir had light tan skin, dark brown eyes and expensive clothes.

The final contingent included the ‘environmentalists’. The five members included two from states directly in the water basin of the huge river that was downstream of the potential mining areas, two were from coastal states potentially impacted by downstream pollution and the final member was an expert on the planet’s ecology. Honeelas Gnipl was also a long-time activist for preservation of the planet’s oceans; a hale and active eighty-two-year-old, he was no stranger to the political sphere.

Qui-Gon also kept a surreptitious eye on the various companions and their interactions, glad that Shamas seemed to be a deep sleeper. Given that all of the reptiles seemed to be content with sleeping or drowsy-eyed contemplation of the human activities, that seemed to be a common behavior. 

Near the end of the last presentation, the bag in front of Brin heaved up and a lizard pushed its way out. It looked very similar to Leesha’s companion, who was reclining on the table near her. Brin’s lizard ambled over and plopped down next to Chago; they exchanged quiet little chirps and cheeps before settling into shared somnolence.

The last speaker, Honeelas Gnipl, finished his final word a split second before the timer went off. He gave a satisfied smile, bowed slightly and sat down.

Brin stood up. “That wraps up the initial position statements. I would like to thank everyone for their conciseness and clarity. Copies of all statements have just been placed in your network folders. We are going to take a ninety-minute break, partly for lunch and partly to socialize. After we reconvene, we will draw lots to determine who shall speak first to give their formal proposal for how we should deal with our noectin resource. One hour each will be allotted, with an additional hour for questions. There will be a twenty-minute break between each speaker. Secretary Staltef will post transcripts of the day’s session within an hour of the days’s closing.” He grinned. “Let’s eat.”

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan split up and ate with different groups. They tried to listen more than they spoke, but there were inevitable questions about the Jedi to which they had to respond. Qui-Gon was pleased with some feelers about noectin prices and potential buyers.

Obi-Wan joined his master on a veranda, ostensibly for a bit of fresh air, but also to compare notes.

“I still sensed some resentment about our presence," said Qui-Gon, "but most of the people I interacted with seemed to have decided we’re relatively harmless, at least for now. I had some interesting questions from Jolir’s group about potential profits and contact information for buyers.”

“Gnipl cornered me for a bit, wanting to know what information I could get him about environmental problems on other planets that have been mining noectin for a while. My impression was that he had some facts, but hasn’t had time or resources to conduct detailed research.”

“I had much the same feeling from several others – the noectin was found relatively recently and they don’t seem to have sufficient information about what has happened on other planets.”

“It’s a good thing we brought all those detailed reports, then, isn’t it?” Obi-Wan grinned. “All that research might turn out to be quite useful for a change.”

“I agree, but I want to hold on to those reports until we find an appropriate time to introduce them.”

“Good idea.” Obi-Wan leaned in close. “How are things going with your new friend?”

“Quite well. She has barely stirred at all, even when checked on her while I was in the fresher.”

A double gong rang out, summoning everyone back to the conference room.

The afternoon sessions were more intense. Brin ensured the tone remained cordial and professional, but cracks were already becoming apparent by the end of the day. 

The tribal position was simple and clear – no activities on Whedin tribal land and no harmful byproducts or damage from any mining or processing activities. They expected no profit from any noectin-related activities and would not stand for any damage from said activities. Even though this was clearly no surprise to anyone, the mining group still presented queries about potential exceptions or potential land swaps.

The miners had already identified five potential locations to begin extraction and four processing sites. One extraction site drew immediate objections from tribal and environmentalists on the grounds of being too close to both the tribal border and a major river.

Obi-Wan made a note on his 'padd and briefly showed it to Qui-Gon, “Jolir is running a red herring.” Qui-Gon smiled pleasantly for the benefit of the others and nodded his agreement.

The other sites drew less heated comments, although there was some definite grumbling about watershed impacts and assertions that the projected level of toxic waste was being understated. Even among the team members there was some disagreement about costs, potential profits and how much money should go back to the states in taxes.

Gnipl’s presentation started out as a combination of passion, gloomy predictions of pollution and images of damage wrought by previous “greedy ravagings of the land”. Once he got past the sermonizing, though, he had a great deal of historical information on how commercial mining activities had caused damage, remediation costs, impacts on health and the economy and several sound suggestions for avoiding or mitigating environmental damage.

By late afternoon, everyone was thoroughly tired of words and was looking forward to breaking for the day.

“I would like to thank everyone for their contributions today,” said Brin. “All of the presentations will be in your network files shortly. Master Jinn, did you have anything you wished to discuss before we close?”

“Thank you, President Brin. I appreciate that a great deal of work has already been done by everyone, but I do have a few questions to help clarify our understanding of the situation. The discovery of the noectin is relatively recent, yes?”

“It is. The initial deposits were discovered about ten months ago. Sera Jolir, I don’t believe the surveys have actually been completed yet to determine the full extent?”

Jolir conferred briefly with two others. “That is correct. We believe we have identified about sixty percent of the primary deposits so far.”

“Thank you. My next question is whether the general intent is to extract and sell as much as possible as quickly as possible, or to develop the resource more slowly and limit how much you release each year. The two approaches will have very different impacts on pricing, markets, and, of course, implementation costs.”

There was an uncomfortable silence for a long moment. Jolir finally spoke up. “I’m sure everyone involved will want to make appropriate profits,” she paused very briefly to nod to Brin, “and, of course, we expect to pay reasonable taxes and environmental mitigations.”

Qui-Gon nodded slightly, making a mental note about non-response about timing. Her answer seemed to confirm an opinion Obi-Wan had voiced to him that the miners appeared not to have progressed to that level of detail in their planning yet.

“Is there a specific issue you wish to have included in tomorrow’s session?” Brin’s tone reflected curiosity.

“Actually, based on everything we’ve heard so far, I believe we may able to contribute some significant information which might change some of the thoughts already expressed. The Republic has tremendous data research and data resources that you likely did not have access to or did not know about this early in your process. We brought with us detailed case studies that were made about the seven planets that have already developed noectin.” Qui-Gon paused to watch reactions around the table. “These include information about mining, refining, environmental issues, start-up costs, marketing, pricing, etcetera. Some of it is quite interesting, such as the start-up issues, the fact that initial extraction of noectin creates only the usual mining waste issues but the refining process does create certain toxic wastes, impacts of attempts to manipulate markets, and so forth.” 

Qui-Gon turned to Brin and bowed slightly, his shoulders unusually rigid. “We have the datapadd here if these studies are something you feel would be useful, sir.” He gestured to Obi-Wan, who pulled the 'padd out and placed it on the table near Brin.

There were raised voices all around the table before Brin could reply, mostly along the lines of ‘hell, yes,’ ‘why didn’t Welb get this for us’ and ‘what’s the catch.’ 

“Alright, everyone, settle down.” Brin waited until the room was quiet again. “This is legitimate? No hooks? No agendas?”

“The studies were conducted by a major university for the Republic’s Office of Critical Resources and were extensively peer-reviewed by both academics and major players in the noectin industries to ensure neutrality. The last one was completed three years ago, but the data should still be relevant, especially the historical sections. Your taxes to the Republic pay for these sorts of things.” Qui-Gon smiled. “Doing research for the mission is part of what you get with a Jedi facilitator. We didn’t want to intrude if it appeared you already had this data and had included it in your planning, but we also want to be helpful if possible. We’re trained to ask the questions you probably would not have known to ask or whom to ask them of, so, as I mentioned earlier, it does seem to us that the studies could be helpful. You can also ask us to do additional research for you, except, of course, for things like a potential competitor’s proprietary secrets.”

“Well, alright then.” Brin picked up the datapadd. “I take it the general consensus is that we want these files?” He grinned at the immediate chorus of agreement. “Secretary Staltef, please see these files are placed onto the session network immediately.”

“Right away, sir.”

“Seeing that we now have more homework tonight than we thought, we will reconvene tomorrow at tenth hour instead of eighth. Any objections?” Brin waited a brief moment. “Today’s session is now closed.”

Qui-Gon moved quickly before Leesha stood up. “I think it would be a good idea if we go to your office and verify the files. Just in case you have any questions before you post them, you know.” He held himself very still, arms at his side to hold his robe close.

“Of course. President Brin, if you’ll excuse us, I’m sure everyone is anxious to see the new information.” Leesha bowed as Brin waved them away.

Obi-Wan picked up the 'padd and trailed the other two as Leesha moved at a quick but casual-appearing pace. She waved the Jedi into her office, closed the door and activated the security shielding. She took Chago out of his carrier and put him in an open terrarium by the windows, then put an oblong red fruit in with him, which he began to happily tear into.

“Thank you for getting us out of there.” Qui-Gon slipped his robe off and tossed it onto a chair. He fidgeted as a shiny head popped up from the front of his tunics. “I think we need to work on the latch for Shamas’s bag. She escaped before I noticed she was out.”

“I wondered why you gave up the files so quickly.” Obi-Wan grinned. “I thought we were going to hold those for when things got contentious, but I could see why you needed a distraction.”

“It was either dangle the files or risk Shamas shinnying up to wrap herself around my neck. She was starting to squirm around quite vigorously and I didn’t want her to hurt herself.” Qui-Gon scratched under her jaw.

“We can discuss that problem in a moment. I need to get those files posted before people come knocking on my door.” She took the datapadd from Obi-Wan. “Is there actually anything I should know about these before I upload?”

“Not really. I would recommend keeping them together in one folder as there are eight separate files. One is an overview and summary of all the files. The other seven are the specific case studies. The format is Republic standard; I pulled them up on one of your computers last night and had no problems reading or searching.”

“Good.” Leesha inserted the 'padd into a data portal, waited for a soft ‘ding’ of connection, then with a blur of keystrokes copied the files into their new home in a secured folder on the governmental network. “There, that should do it.” She blew out a breath and leaned back in her chair. “Soooo, aside from stupid snakes, you boys holding out any other juicy information I should know about?”

“Well, unless you’re interested in a detailed breakdown of the last fifty years of your planet’s imports, exports, financial budgets, Republic taxes, political parties, smuggling issues, environmental issues and mining resources,” Obi-Wan held out his hands, “oh, and a titillating illustrated copy of the mating habits of the rare Fringus Belten bird, then probably not.”

Leesha snorted and rolled her eyes.

“We only asked for a fifty-year summary and the noectin case studies,” said Qui-Gon. “But our mission research support group also sent all that other stuff.” He gave a small shrug. “You know, just in case we might need it. Or maybe for if we had insomnia.” Qui-Gon narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. “There are some unofficial stories about certain underhanded tactics and price gouging by the mining triad on Trancus Four. And the Miners Union on Vericus is under investigation for allegedly trying to buy out some of the other noectin operations to set up a monopoly. If you’ve had any beings from either of those places approach your people, I would suggest extreme caution, but I don’t have any official unclassified documentation on most of that.”

“Vericus, huh….” Leesha narrowed her eyes and sucked on a front tooth for a moment. “I’ve heard that name rather recently.” She sat up and did the blur of hands thing again on her terminal. “I’ve sent out a few inquiries about that. Should have something by early morning.” She sighed. “Meanwhile, I’ve still got two issues to resolve.” She did more magic and the noectin summary file appeared on a huge wall monitor. “It’s actually probably a lot better that the files came out sooner rather than later. There’s a few of those folks who can be incredibly hardheaded once they’ve established a public position, but we may be able to head that off since we’re in private single session. Something clearly caught your attention yesterday or today, so give me an idea of what things concerned you before I go plowing through this stuff.”

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan quickly went through topics of particular interest:

Surveys of potential noectin locations – previous experience says the noectin is typically deep but always runs in relatively straight, wide veins. The outlying ‘branching’ locations rarely have much useful ore. This is very significant for areas encroaching into Whedin lands, which is mostly small branches on the surveys completed so far.

The Klaon assumption that noectin mining creates toxic wastes when the unique toxins are actually only released under extremely high heat during refining and subsequent impacts on determining locations to start mining and environmental impacts. There is too low an assumption by Klaon mining proponents (or deliberate misstatement) about levels of toxicity and the need to create impermeable storage until it dissipates in twenty years.

Significant Klaon underestimates of startup costs based on other planet's eventual needs for full environmental mitigation and length of time to break even.

"Those are some of the biggest items that could change present positions," said Obi-Wan.

"Great, thanks." Leesha thumbed a comm button on her desk. “President Brin, our most excellently great and wondrous fearless leader, can I beseech you to provide your august presence in my office to discuss a couple of weighty issues? I have the two Jedi here already.” 

There was a slight crackle before he replied. “Fucking hell, woman. When you get that smarmy it must be something I’m not going to like. Can you give me thirty minutes? I’ve got visitors to sort out.”

“Can do. I’ve got fresh sweetpears and top shelf liquor.”

“You’d better have lots of both. See you shortly.” 

Leesha grinned. “He’s good to work with, but it doesn’t hurt to have a certain amount of lubrication.” She opened a chiller and pulled out two bottles of wine, a container of ice and a covered plate of sandwiches which she put on the rectangular conference table that filled half her office. She went to a cabinet to get plates, glasses, napkins, boxes of crisps, bags of cookies, three bottles of alcohol, and a large bowl of various fruits, all of which were added to the assortment. She finished by retrieving a box from a shelf under Chago’s terrarium.

The box contained protein chunks for Shamas to try, which Leesha said she had found useful when you don’t have live food. Shamas gingerly checked one out and decided she liked it, downing three of the chunks before climbing back to settle into Qui’s tunics.

“Qui-Gon, we do need to tell the president about your Companion. I've already put him off longer than he's going to like. When Guth sees Shamas, he’s likely to be quite upset. Please just let him blow off steam, take it all in, and don’t try to explain anything unless he asks you specific questions. I’ll do the presenting and run the security videos. He’ll need a little time to process things before we can really talk about what we’ll be doing to try to resolve the situation.”

“I understand."

A buzz at the door announced the arrival of the president. Leesha worked a combination pad to release the door and immediately secured it again after he came in.

“Hey, Guth, thanks for joining us.”

“Leesh, Master Jinn, Padawan Kenobi.” Brin nodded to each in turn. 

“You can put Kevless in with Chago if you want. There’re fresh redfers in the bowl.” She waited as Brin put his lizard companion in the terrarium and gave it one of the fruits before coming over to the table. Leesha poured wine for everyone before speaking. “I’d like to talk about the noectin first. Some interesting information in the new files that could definitely change some of the thinking we saw in today's session.”

They ate sandwiches and snacks and sipped wine as they talked about the noectin new info and thoughts for next session.

“Sounds like we’ve got a handle on how the new data could change things tomorrow.” Leesha sighed. “Time to move on to the second subject.” She went to the cabinet and got a new bottle of alcohol. “Here, Guth, you need to have this.” She poured a generous glassfull. “You remember when I asked you to trust me when I asked for the noectin single session?”

“Yeeessss.” Brin took a sip. He closed his eyes as he rolled the soft liquid around before slowly swallowing. “Gods and goddesses, that’s the really good stuff. Just how much trouble are you about to unload on me?”

Leesha had the grace to look regretful. “A lot, I’m afraid. I’ve been trying to keep this under wraps, but we’re going to have to address it very soon. Now, before you explode, I want you to know that what happened is not, in any way, anyone’s fault or anyone attempting to break any of our laws.”

“This is not sounding good at all. Leesha, what the hell is going on?”

“Qui-Gon, would you please bring Shamas out?”

Brin’s hand fell to the table, the hard thump sloshing the expensive alcohol. “No,” he breathed as his face turned pale. “What in all the bloody hells did you do?” He shook his head back and forth as his mouth worked to try to make more words. “Fucking fucking bloody hells.”

“Guth! Hey, listen to me. Jinn did not DO anything.”

Shamas retreated up Qui-Gon’s arm.

One shaking hand pointed toward Qui-Gon and the snake making its way up his arm to wrap around his neck. “That’s a fucking trifler.” Brin finally turned toward Leesha. “That’s one of OUR triflers that outworlder has.” He turned even paler, a deathly white. “No, no, no… he didn’t… he couldn’t…” Brin picked up his glass and threw back half of it in one gulp.

“Calm down and listen to me, Guth. Yes, the snake is his Companion.” She waited as Brin swore again and downed the rest of his drink. She refilled his glass. “Qui-Gon did not look for the snake, did not want the snake and had no part in the selecting. We were just sitting out by the pool at my family compound when the stupid snake came in over the wall and decided she wanted him.”

Brin stared for a moment. “You expect me to believe that? Or more to the point, do you expect the rest of the world to believe that?”

“I’ve got the whole thing on video from the security cameras.” She sighed and poured herself a drink. “Three times we put the snake back outside the wall. Every single time she hiked herself up into the trees and glided back in over the fence and security screen. Every single time she made straight for Qui-Gon. Here, I’ll show you.” 

Leesha played the entire footage from that night, Brin’s expression getting grimmer as it progressed.

“If this gets out, people are so crazy about Companions there will be riots and death threats, probably actual attempts on his life.” He briefly closed his eyes tight and groaned. “Who knows about this?”

“My man Riki, who is absolutely trustworthy, and the four of us in this room.”

“Master Jinn, you’re absolutely certain you’re bonded to that snake?”

“Yes, President Brin. We tested a separation and both of us felt the loss. Shamas was quite agitated when I returned to the room.” As if to reinforce the point, Shamas raised her head, closed all three eyes and rubbed her head back and forth in Qui-Gon’s beard. “I can assure you I did not seek her out and had no idea what was happening until Leesha explained it to me. Unfortunately, she’s in my heart now and I can’t change that. I am open to ideas on how we should deal with the situation.” He scratched under Shamas’s jaw absently.

“The first issue is that you’re an outworlder. The concept of the Companions is a big part of our history, our traditions going way back to all the indigenous peoples, our unique claim to fame, so to speak.” Brin took another drink. “The second problem is the export laws. I don’t suppose you could stay here? At least for a while? We can guarantee you an interesting, nice-paying job.”

“I belong to the Jedi Order and must go back to Coruscant. I might be able to get a short leave for a few days, perhaps a few tens at best, but I’m afraid a long-term absence is not feasible.”

Brin scrubbed at his face for a moment before heaving a huge sigh. “Maybe it’s not too late to put the damned snake back out in the jungle,” he muttered.

“Guth!” Leesha stood up, her face horror-stricken. “Don’t even think that!”

“There will be others saying it.”

Leesha fetched both lizards from the terrarium, holding Chago close and placing Kevless on the table in front of Brin. “There can be no separation. Our laws are based on the needs of the Companion being paramount!”

“Sorry, I know that.” Brin looked thoroughly abashed as he cuddled Kevless in his arms. “I know it would tear me apart to have to give up Kevless and it’s just as bad, if not worse, for him. But there will be idiots who don’t have Companions saying that sort of thing, especially given that triflers are particularly rare and valuable.”

“And we have plenty of examples of Companions dying when their person does. That sort of thing we can spin and turn the anger back against them.”

Qui-Gon had been waiting patiently, but felt moved to ask a few questions. “Would it bother Shamas to stay in a room close to the discussions? Perhaps if we fed her a lot in the morning so she’d sleep and Riki stayed with her? That would prevent any accidental escapes in the conference room.”

“Maybe, but Companions tend to be clingier and more sensitive the first few months. And that doesn’t solve the long-term problem.”

“Well, something to think about. I was wondering who actually has to approve an export application?”

“Has to be at least two different offices, but that’s only for items legally allowed for export.” Brin shook his head. “Export of Companions or any animal that might become a Companion is explicitly forbidden. Might be able to get an exception if the entire General Assembly voted for it as a legal carve-out, but that would be very hard to do.”

They argued back and forth for almost an hour about various possibilities, including smuggling and mind-whammying, but not agreeing on any of them.

Obi-Wan finally gave a big gusty sigh. “You know, the real problem we have is that we are all just too gods-damned ethical.”

Everyone laughed. Leesha added, “Yeah, and our customs search teams are way too gods-damned good at their jobs if we just try to hide Shamas on your ship.”

“So, sounds like we’re back to letting the noectin discussions continue until some sort of compromise seems to be within reach, let Shamas ‘accidentally’ make her presence known, let everyone vent for a bit, then remind them they have to finish the noectin single session before they can finish tearing me limb from limb?”

“That would get one huge problem resolved, at least for a while until we have start to getting the details sorted out.” Brin drained the last bit of alcohol from his glass.

“And buy us some time to try to figure something out.” Leesha yawned. “I’ve still got a ton of work to do tonight, so I’m throwing all of you out of my office. Qui-Gon, Riki will take you and Obi-Wan back to the compound.”

“Yeah, I need to go through these new documents myself.” Brin stood and stretched. “I’m sure I’ll have questions for our Jedi. Can we get together about nine for breakfast in my office?”

Everyone agreed, gathered their respective Companions and went their own ways.

*** *** ***

Breakfast for the Jedi ended up being cereal, juice and toast in Leesha's office – Guthy Brin had begged off due to a 'remarkably high number of calls, emails and visitors'. After a grin and a teasing remark about 'setting things on fire', Leesha spent much of the hour at her desk answering her own calls and emails between bites of food and sips of caf. Qui-Gon suspected that only the security field on her door was keeping out visitors.

They fed Shamas a mouse, with an extra protein chunk for good measure, and got her comfortably settled into her carrying case, the latch of which had been reinforced.

"Okay, sorry we didn't have much time to talk, but I think you'll find that the conversations will be different today." She grinned. "Oh, and I got some answers back about Vericus – they have had people here several times the last few months, meeting with some of the 'mine it now' contingent." Her grin turned wicked. "I dropped a few words to certain people about potential 'entanglements' with Republic investigations. I'm looking forward to seeing how that plays out."

"You are a cunning and artful player, Secretary Staltef." Qui-Gon gave her a bow and a grin of his own. "Shall we head for the session hall?" He put Shamas's carrier on, carefully placed his robe and joined their little procession, picking up President Brin along the way.

The room was buzzing when their group entered and slowly made their way to their seats. The conference room was bright and spacious, with large transparasteel windows in the outer wall. The sun seemed to be particularly bright, which was hopefully an omen for good progress.

Brin stood behind his chair until the gong sounded before sitting down, waiting for the noise to recede.

"This session is now open."

The words were barely out of his mouth when several people leapt to their feet. Katoron barely beat the others with his request for the floor.

"Alright, everyone will get a chance to speak. Ser Katoron, you will go first, then Sera Jolir, then Ser Gnipl." Brin nodded toward the indigenous representative.

"Thank you, President Brin. And I would also like to express our appreciation to our Jedi facilitators for providing such remarkably useful information." Katoron paused as Qui-Gon made a careful bow of acknowledgement. "I believe we can resolve the Whedin's issues with the help of both the new data and the survey maps that Sera Jolir's team provided."

For the next twenty minutes, Katoron pointed out on the map where the main lode of noectin appeared to run, where many of the offshoots headed toward Whedin areas previously proposed as off-limits and how the edges of the presumed primary lode could be kept on the far side of the major river that bordered much of the western edge of the Whedin territory.

"So, as I'm sure we all read, six of the seven other planets with noecton had the same pattern of a single long, broad and deep lode with only minor offshoots – a pattern we clearly see starting to develop here. Therefore, there is really no need for mining under the Whedin lands, although we would still like to see a monitoring system implemented for everyone's peace of mind."

There was a low hum of multiple conversations among the various factions. Qui-Gon thought he detected a degree of potential agreement.

"Hey, let's just hang on here a minute." Jeg Tunker, a burly mining engineer supporting Jolir's group, spoke up, his first time since the session started. His weathered face was crinkled in a frown. "Maybe you got a point, and maybe you don't, but I been feeling all along that there's maybe something you haven't been telling us. I like to think I'm a fair man, and I understand why you wouldn't want places like burial grounds and ceremonial buildings and such disturbed. But –" he jabbed a finger toward the map – "nobody has said diddly damned squat about that humungous stretch of woods there even when I asked, just some mysterious mumbo-jumbo about it being a sacred place. Hell, it don't even run along the main branch of the river. I know the survey's not finished yet, but what we've got shows there might be more than just piddly li'l potential offshoots heading through those woods, like that seventh planet had. Why should we have to take all that off the table and not even be able to verify it those are viable veins off the main lode?"

Qui-Gon felt the mood shift in the room, what had started as potential acceptance shifting toward skepticism.

"While I appreciate how the new information has changed some of our thoughts, Ser Tunker does have a good point, don't you think?" Jolir raised one eyebrow. "Ser Katoron, can you provide some enlightenment for us to help strengthen your case?"

Katoron stood for a moment, arms crossed and face wooden as he stared at the map. After a long moment, he finally sighed. "I need to consult with the rest of my team. Please excuse us for a few minutes." He huddled with the Whedins and there was an urgent exchange of words in their language, which quickly ended.

"Chief of chiefs Mashhoo will address your question, Ser Tunker." Katoron sat down.

Chief of chiefs Mashhoo went to the map, then faced the group. He was an old man, with extensive tattoos of snakes on both arms, and he carried himself with the grace and gravity of both age and authority. His Companion, a three-foot bronze and brown snake, was loosely coiled around his neck. "You have asked us of these lands." He swept one hand across the image of the vast forest. "This is a thing we do not often speak of with outsiders, for visitors are not welcomed there by the Guardian and we do not wish to have her space violated. The forest is indeed very sacred to us, for it is the home of Seshayha and her family. She is the Guardian of all things in the forest, especially the snakes, and ensures that those who are not worthy do not disturb the peace. She has been friend to our people since before we knew time. She will not allow mining or other pollution of her land."

There was silence as Mashhoo returned to his place at the table.

"Well, not to disrespect your customs, but everybody knows those stories are just that – stories. There ain't no such thing as some kind of goddess running around in the woods." Tunker leaned back in his chair, his smile more than a tad patronizing.

"Um… actually, she's not a myth."

Everybody turned to stare at the quiet woman who rarely spoke. Nila Helas was the foremost ecosystem engineer on the planet, although you wouldn’t know it from her demeanor. Short and slender with tan unlined skin that belied her many years out in the field, she was quiet, but with a reputation for not putting up with nonsense and a knack for tracking down rare plants and animals. She had a small, brightly colored lizard companion peeking out of a chest pocket.

"I suppose you're going to tell us you caught a glimpse of her, like one of those supposed white gazellos." Jolir's tone was the tolerant one people assumed with eccentric scientists.

"No, I met her. And talked to her. Or, rather, I should say, she talked to me."

Dead silence reigned for a count of five before somebody cleared their throat. Everyone continued to stare at her until she sighed and spoke again.

"I was nineteen and doing a summer project between semesters at university. The team was researching the river system above that three-branch-split. I was in a canoe tracking down some rare aquatic plants, not paying attention to the weather, and got caught in a downpour. My canoe got swept down several miles through rough water in the branch that borders the forest and finally overturned when it got caught on some rocks. I was drowning, choking on water, when something grabbed the back of my shirt and hauled me up. I remember being carried out of the water and put on some grass inside the treeline." She paused. "Somebody was helping me get the water out, pounding on my back, then I passed out. When I woke, there was a fire, I was wrapped in a blanket… and there was a huge woman standing there staring down at me. Definitely bigger than you, Ser Tunker, tall, broad, kind of bronze/red skin, long black hair and both arms had beautiful tattoos. And she had two snakes, a yellow tarpa viper and a big black constrictor. They were coiled up near her feet."

Helas seemed lost in thought for a moment before she shrugged and continued.

"I must have been unconscious for a while, because it was dawn of the next day when I woke up. I thought maybe I was dreaming, because she stared down at me for what seemed the longest time. When she finally spoke, it was heavily accented Klaonan, but I didn't have any trouble understanding her. She asked me what I was doing in her forest. I definitely remember that, she called it her forest. I explained about my work and getting caught in the storm. She seemed to consider that for a while, as if she was studying me. I remember exactly what she said next:

‘I am Seshaysha, Guardian of this land and all the life within it. I judge you worthy, but you will not find a friend here. You may stay until the sun rises high, but then you will be taken to the river and set back on your path. You will not return to my home.’

“Then she turned and left. There were two young women and a man, who fed me hot soup, gave me my dried clothes. They took me down to the river bank after I rested, where someone had found and repaired my canoe. I got in the canoe and they were already gone by the time I was in mid-stream. I wanted to go back and explore…" She shivered. "I found that I couldn't. There was like a powerful compulsion inside, pushing me away. I never did go back. But Seshaysha is very real."

Mashhoo broke the silence. He went to Helas and waved his hand over her in a figure eight pattern. "Blessed are those who have had the honor to meet her. She has judged you worthy. You are welcome to visit my people if you wish to know more, although you will not be allowed into the forest itself."

"Thank you, I would like that. Can you tell me what it means to be considered 'worthy'? I never did understand that part."

"Seshaysha judges all those who wish to enter the forest to find a Companion, which for our people is usually a snake. If you are worthy, you may enter freely. If you are not, you find that you have lost your desire to be in the forest. She must have felt that you would find your friend, your Companion, elsewhere. She does have a large family of those who help her protect and cherish the forest, including potential successors. There has been an unbroken line of Seshayshas for as long as our history is known." He bowed and returned to his seat.

"But this is incredible!" One of the Planetary Councilors was practically vibrating in her seat. "Why hasn't anyone investigated this?"

"Seshaysha does not suffer visitors lightly." Mashhoo quirked one eyebrow. "She can be a ruthless Guardian and the river takes away those who do not survive their trespassing."

"Uh…" The councilor stared for a moment. "Oh," she breathed out. "Got it. Never mind."

"Ser Katoron, Chief of chiefs Mashhoo, if I understood correctly, it seems that the forest is home to all the potential Companions for the Whedin, yes?" asked Leesha.

Mashoo nodded.

"Okay, then. It sounds pretty simple to me. With all due respect, Ser Tunker, I think we can make a good assumption that the lode of noectin is highly likely to run in one big, very deep node. So, do we REALLY need to be bothering the Whedins by trying to get to every little tiny offshoot that is under their land, including under the area where all those potential companions live?"

Qui-Gon watched quietly as Leesha's words were mulled over, discussed and finally, although a bit reluctantly in a few cases, agreed with. It was clearly the thought of the Companions rather than the mysterious Guardian that swayed most of them, which just increased his concern for his chances of safely getting Shamas off the planet.

"Thank you for that motion, Ser Gnipl." Brin looked at the room. "Are we all in agreement with the general principle that the Whedin lands are off-limits? With the details for a buffer zone to be worked in follow-on discussions?"

There was a voice consensus of 'ayes'.

"Excellent. Let's take a break. We resume in thirty minutes."

*** *** ***

The rest of that day and all of the following three devolved into a series of back and forth discussions that always seemed to come back to money in some fashion. 

The environmentalists were adamant about conservation measures; they wanted actual mining operations as far from rivers and watersheds as possible, the smallest number of mine heads as possible, maximized waste management at the mine sites, refining sites away from sensitive environments, minimum fifty-year containment of refining wastes, minimal damage to transport routes, frequent inspections and so forth.

The mining contingent figuratively shrieked and threw up their hands; the new data indicated initial costs were going to be much higher than originally thought, fewer mine heads meant less noectin coming out, which meant less profit, moving the refining sites to barren sites meant higher transportation costs, thirty-year containment sites were the norm, how do you expect roads to be built without cutting down some trees, the government was asking for too much in taxes, which meant less profit, and no, they weren't willing to share costs or get lower taxes if that meant giving the central government a stake in the business operations (and a share of future profits).

Their position being now quite solid, the indigenous team mostly just watched the fireworks and tossed out sporadic comments when water pollution issues were raised.

The relatively neutral members seemed content to also mostly remain on the sidelines, although there were definitely defenses raised when the topics of lower taxes, government subsidies and ocean pollution came up.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan watched, listened, posed carefully selected questions and generally tried to keep tempers from flaring too heatedly.

It was, in short, four excruciatingly boring days of essentially the same arguments being flung back and forth.

At twentieth hour, Qui-Gon passed a note to Guthy Brin: Shamas is stirring again. 

Brin nodded, let the debate run a few more minutes, then banged his gavel. "I think we are all getting tired, hungry and cranky. I declare this session closed for the day. We shall resume tomorrow morning at ninth hour." Without waiting for any protests, he got up and walked out of the room, followed by Leesha and the Jedi.

In Leesha's secured office, everyone sat heavily at the table with various expressions of frustration as they waited for servers to finish bringing in covered trays.

"Is this sort of negotiation normal for your usual business of governing?" asked Qui-Gon as he put Shamas's carrier on the table and began working at the latch.

"Sometimes, when it is a particularly fraught issue." Brin grimaced. "Taxes can be a pain, but not as much as who gets what slice of the revenue pie."

Shamas poured out of her carrier and stretched out to her whole length, adding a wiggle for good measure, before she turned to accept the protein chunk Qui-Gon offered her.

"She is a pretty little thing," said Leesha a bit grudgingly.

"She's also getting to be a bit more lively." Qui-Gon frowned slightly. "I had to feed her extra protein chunks when I was in the fresher this afternoon to get her to settle down."

"She's probably bored." Brin watched Shamas as she slithered across the table to see what Chago and Kevless were eating. "Hmmm…. Given that the noectin discussions seem to be bogging down, I wonder if it might not be time for her to make an 'accidental' appearance. They've all had more than enough time to make their points and nobody's budging on their positions."

"True, and the longer we hide Shamas the angrier some of them will be that we've been keeping this under wraps. There's at least a few of them who'll be torched off no matter how we explain it or how many surveillance tapes I show them."

"Do either of you have a specific plan in mind?" Qui-Gon's expression softened as Shamas slithered back and went up his arm to her favored position around his neck. He scratched her chin.

Leesha and Brin conferred briefly before nodding.

"First thing in the morning is not good," said Brin. "Aside from Theora Jolir being notoriously crabby first thing in the morning, I want them to have a few hours to see if anyone seems willing to make any concessions, but since I don't expect that to happen, right after the morning break should work. That would give you an opportunity to unlatch her carrier in the fresher and casually sit back down at the table. The only variable will be getting her to come out on her own so it does not appear that you are flaunting her."

"If I feed her lightly in the morning, Shamas will probably be awake by mid-morning. She tends to push against the lid anyway, so once the latch is open it's likely she will just slip out. Exactly where she goes will be the question, although she favors being around my neck or inside my tunics."

"If you sort of lean forward toward the table, do you think she'll come out like she did tonight?" asked Leesha.

"I can give that a try." 

"I've been wondering just what sort of reaction you're really expecting beyond the term 'loud'." Obi-Wan had been quite until now, but stirred uneasily. "Are we talking shouting or potential violence?"

"Welllll….. probably some initial 'what the fuck' as people start to realize there's a new Companion in the room that they haven't seen before. Definitely some raised voices once they understand that she seems to be Qui-Gon's Companion." Leesha sucked a front tooth thoughtfully. "If the anger feeds on itself enough and they stop listening to my explanations, you could possibly get some people up on their feet and heading toward Qui-Gon."

"Even if I'm holding Shamas?"

"That should slow them down, if nothing else." Brin grinned. "I am not entirely without measures to tamp down the situation, to include loudly locking the room down and cranking up the bell volume to painful levels." His mouth turned down. "This will be a touchy subject no matter how we go about it, but it will be helpful if you don't injure anyone. They don't need any added fuel for the fire."

"I can use the Force to shove people back if necessary, although that will likely reinforce the idea that I am an outsider." Qui-Gon shrugged. "I will try to stay neutral where possible. You know your people better than I do, so I will be guided by your lead as long as Shamas is not harmed."

"Shamas's needs will be at the heart of what will, hopefully, eventually be a harmonious conclusion. In the meantime, I will almost certainly have to force the session into seclusion to resolve the noecton discussion before they can bring up the question of what to do about Shamas. We'll just have to see how long that takes with Shamas being in the room as a distraction."

"Okay, sounds like a plan. Meanwhile, I'm hungry and need some alcohol." Leesha grinned and headed for her liquor cabinet.

*** *** *** ***

After dinner, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan continued discussing potential scenarios until late in the evening while Shamas wandered about their quarters when she wasn't on Qui-Gon. She seemed quite oblivious to their concerns, but Qui-Gon slept poorly that night.

The next morning seemed to be a continuation of the previous four days. There were a few signs of potential conciliations, but by mid-morning there had been no major break-throughs.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I need more caf." Brin smiled and gave one tap with his gavel. "Twenty minute recess."

Qui-Gon made an almost surreptitious circuit of the room, with a brief word here and a nod there. He made it into a fresher much further down the hall and locked himself into a stall at the end of the row. He could feel Shamas starting to move and felt a few butterflies in his stomach when he opened the latch of her carrier. 

"Be a good girl, Shamas," he whispered. He sent calming thoughts to his Companion until he felt her settle into the bottom of her carrier.

Qui-Gon kept his hands in his sleeves as an excuse to keep them close to his body as he made his way back to his seat in the conference room. He nodded slightly to Brin and leaned forward very close to the table.

It was several minutes before Shamas began moving. She put just the tip of her head out between the edges of Qui-Gon's robe; Qui-Gon felt a spark of curiosity as she seemed to be surveying the room. Shamas apparently spotted Chago and Kelvess snoozing together between Brin and Leesha; curiosity changed to happiness. She began slowly moving on to the table and making her way over to them.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan began stealthily sweeping their gaze around the table to see if anyone was reacting to Shamas. Most people's attention was on the four-way argument between two mining engineers, Jolir and Gnipl about refining locations and potential cost versus ecological damage for three candidate sites.

Obi-Wan nudged Qui-Gon and nodded slightly. 

Nila Helas was sitting closest to Obi-Wan; when Qui-Gon glanced her way he saw that she had stopped with a mug of tea halfway to her mouth and her eyes were wide, the direction of her gaze lasered in on where Shamas had reached the two lizard Companions and curled up next to them. She finally blinked, put the cup down and turned her head to look down the length of the table. Helas seemed to be trying to count the number of snakes with the Whedin tribal representatives. She finally sat back in her chair and stared at Shamas, her brow furrowed in very obvious confusion.

Shamas finished her chat with the lizards and began to leisurely slither across the table toward Qui-Gon.

"Oh, no," breathed Helas as Shamas's destination became clear.

"What? Is something wrong?" The Planetary Councilor sitting next to Helas leaned in to see what she was looking at.

By this time, Shamas was sitting in front of Qui-Gon, who had put one hand on the table. Shamas made a loose coil and began butting Qui-Gon's hand until he started scratching her chin. All three of her eyes went half-lidded in bliss.

"Hey, what's going on?" came from across the table.

More voices started chiming in, the noectin discussion clearly forgotten.

"Why does the Jedi have a snake?" "That's a trifler!" "Where'd it come from?"

The volume began rapidly rising and Brin banged his gavel several times.

The sudden noises startled Shamas and she zipped up Qui-Gon's arm to wrap herself around his neck. She peered out from near his chin.

"That JEDI has one of OUR snakes." Honeelas Knipl's voice was dark and angry, and his remark started several other mutterings.

"If you'll all quiet down, we can explain why Master Jinn appears to have acquired a Companion. It's all –"

"NOOOOO!" 

Clearly calling Shamas a Companion had not been the right thing to do.

Several people were on their feet now and the angry yelling got even louder, although the Whedins did not appear to be joining the outbursts.

Qui-Gon stood up and Obi-Wan moved to his side. He tried to hold his hands out and speak, but he, Brin and Leesha were all out-shouted.

Suddenly a half-dozen people began moving together toward the end of the table where the Jedi stood. Faces were red and fists were raised.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan prepared to step back in unison and use the Force to hold them off, if necessary. Before either of them of could move, Shamas unwrapped herself from Qui-Gon's neck and pushed off to land on the table.

Shamas raised herself and gave a guttural shrieking roar, holding herself in front of Qui-Gon. When that seemed to have no effect on the advancing mini-mob, she stretched herself out, back end toward the group.

POP. POP. POP. POP.

The intensely noxious smell that emerged from Shamas was enough to literally stop everyone in their tracks. In seconds, every person within a fifteen-foot radius was hacking and coughing, tears streaming from their eyes.

Shamas raised herself up again and gave another shriek, bobbing back and forth.

"Back off! Everyone back off!" Brin gaveled hard between coughing spasms. "Sit down, dammit! She's just trying to protect her person, you idiots! Qui-Gon, get her calmed down."

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, at the first whiff, had been able to get their breathers out, but the stench was still strong enough to make them gag. Qui-Gon took very shallow breaths as he reached out to get Shamas. She wrapped her lower half around his forearm, but her upper body was upright, her head twisting from side to side. She gave a few more guttural barks as Qui-Gon pulled her in close, running his hand along her body, murmuring reassuring words and sending soothing thoughts.

The roar of high-speed fans kicking in made it difficult to talk, so everyone sat and glowered at Qui-Gon as they held cloths or arms in front of their mouths and noses, drinking water or dabbing at eyes. Those who had Companions held them close. It was a very uncomfortable five minutes before the fans abated to a mild rumble and the stench abated to a merely distasteful aroma lingering in the air.

"Alright, I am going to remind everyone here that we are all adults and we are going to handle this situation in a responsible manner." Brin glared around the room.

"We need to let people know about this – " started Jolir.

"No, we do not." Brin did something on his room panel and all of the doors suddenly slammed shut with a metallic thundering.

That definitely got everyone's attention and the room was deathly quiet.

"You will find that your communications devices do not work." Brin held up a hand. "You need to get the background information on this situation before anyone goes running off half-cocked and causing a major incident and riots in the streets. Now…" A buzz on the room control panel interrupted him and he picked up an earpiece. "Yes, Captain Optan, the panel is sequestered, total seclusion is now invoked. Sorry about the lack of notice, but it was a sudden decision." Brin listened a moment. "What? Oh, for… yes, I'm opening the door now, send him in. Then proceed with seclusion support." 

Brin adjusted two controls and the main door opened for a moment to let Mashhoo in. He shut the door again.

"Sorry, I was at the fresher down the hall." Mashhoo stopped short. "Did I miss something important?"

Qui-Gon was certain that Mashhoo had been in the room when the uproar started, but the man's expression of absolute innocence was difficult to challenge. He turned to watch Brin's reaction.

"You were down the hall?" Brin's expression was grim.

"Yes." Mashhoo gave a small, self-deprecating smile. "A bit of an upset stomach."

"I see." Brin exchanged glances with Leesha, who just shrugged. "Very well, if you'll please take your seat, we have some very important information to give everyone. Secretary Staltef, if you will begin, please."

Leesha put on her best professional mask and plunged into the background story: the Jedi's arrival on the planet, taking them to her family compound for background briefings, dinner by the pool, finding the snake, their attempts to put it back outside, the repeated re-entries. She showed the video footage three times.

"However, when Qui-Gon announced that the snake had named herself to him, it was immediately clear that Shamas had chosen the person she wanted. Once a Companion has chosen, that choice cannot be undone. At that point, the situation changed to one of damage control so we have time to sort out how to handle this situation," Leesha looked at each person in turn, "without a lot of people reacting in anger instead of out of concern for what is in the best interests of the Companion."

The room full of glowering faces did not bode well for a quick resolution, or even quick acceptance, of the situation. Shamas wrapped herself around Qui-Gon's neck, her head tucked in tight except for an occasional low gruff growl. Qui-Gon tried to reassure her, but it was clear she was not happy. He stayed out of the arguments except when directly addressed about his intention to properly care for his Companion.

Three hours later, the group was still in a stalemate. There was grudging agreement that the needs of the Companion were the primary concern, but very few people seemed to be able to get past the problem of a Companion having chosen an outworlder. There were many accusations of coercion, and Leesha would play the security footage again.

"Well, dammit, that Jedi broke the law and we need to do something about that."

"No, he didn't, because he did not do the choosing." Leesha set a datapad on the table in front of her. "It's illegal for outworlder or citizen to export any reptilian creature, Companion or not. Even our own citizens have to get a license to take their Companion with them if they leave the planet." She tapped the datapad. "It's all in here if anyone wants to look. Our laws do not say anywhere I could find that it is illegal for a Companion to voluntarily choose an outworlder of their own accord."

"I don't understand why we can't make him stay here, even if we can't lock him up."

Brin sighed and repeated for the fourth time - "Do you want to be the one to face the Republic police and explain why we kidnapped one of their citizens, especially a Jedi Master?"

"It's still not right." There were several mutters of agreement.

"Alright. Enough is enough. It is clear that we are not going to resolve this problem right now. In the meantime, there is another urgent matter before us. In case you have forgotten, we are in a single issue special session. The noecton discovery is probably the biggest thing that has happened on this planet for decades, if not centuries, with great potential for good or ill. We must come up with at least a first draft on how to proceed before we can leave this session. After that is taken care of, we can return to the issue of the Companion and her person. I have declared the session to be in seclusion. That means totally sequestered, so it's not like any of us are going anywhere." 

There was another round of disgruntled shouts and comments.

A fierce bang of his gavel got silence.

"The law and our operational rules of the government are clear; we are sequestered until we have an initial agreement on noecton. You are supposed to be leaders, so start acting like it. Ser Gnipl, you had the floor last, please continue."

Qui-Gon appreciated the phrasing Brin used, keeping Shamas at the forefront of the issue. He appreciated even more the leader's willingness to take the heat for keeping the noecton problem on a fast track – that was an issue that if not tackled aggressively could linger acrimoniously for years, as it had on four of the other planets who had found noecton earlier.

The steel mettle under Brin's usually mild and genial manner came into full force and was heavily tried. With Leesha's adroit assistance, he pushed, tugged, cajoled, coaxed and maneuvered around the points of intransigence until a reluctant path toward a solution began to emerge. By late evening, however, things had sputtered to a halt.

"I think a break and a meal are in order. Any objections?" Brin waited for the sotto voce snark that it was about damned time to die away. "Very well. Food will be brought in shortly. Also, cots will be set up in the next room. We will reconvene in one hour to continue the session until the group decides it's time to break for sleep."

"Wait a minute." Jolir's face was aghast. "You seriously are not going to let us out of here at all?"

"That's what being sequestered means. I sent everyone the rules before we began the session. Food will be brought in, cots will be available for sleeping and there are freshers connected to this room and the annex. And I will remind everyone that communication devices will not work in this room, the annex or the freshers. If you need to get a message out regarding your whereabouts, Captain Optan will collect and send those."

There was more grumbling as people wandered to visit freshers or check out the food for people and Companions being brought in by security personnel. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan waited until the main room was empty before going into the next room to get their meal, which they opted to eat in the conference room. Given how conspicuously most people had avoided them, they were both surprised when all three of the Whedins came to join them.

"May we eat with you?" asked Mashhoo politely.

"Of course. We would welcome the company."

Mashhoo and his compatriots, Nevuro and Denawa, sat down. Their Companions drifted down onto the table to enjoy some meat treats.

"I was very sorry to see the way the Klaonans reacted when Shamas appeared," said Mashhoo. "I understand that they have become incredibly, almost irrationally, possessive and protective of Companions over the last few centuries, but our people believe that anyone who is worthy can be chosen. The Companion generally only picks a person with whom they feel a kindred spirit."

"I’m glad to hear that. Secretary Staltef did warn us that most people's reactions would be quite hostile, but we can't undo what Shamas did."

Shamas seemed to know she was being spoken of; she loosened her near-stranglehold around Qui-Gon's neck and slipped down his arm to the table. She looked at the Whedins for a moment, then must have decided it was safe to explore. She cautiously slithered over to join the other three snakes.

"Very true, but I believe we will find a way to amicably resolve this situation." Mashhoo watched a moment as Shamas exchanged little hisses and neck touches with the other Companions. "She is quite a beautiful girl, if I may so. And quite adventurous, apparently."

"I would agree, on both counts." Qui-Gon gave a rueful smile. "Also quite stubborn about getting what she wants."

"Probably why she was attracted to you, Master." Obi-Wan grinned.

Qui-Gon snorted and rolled his eyes.

"I have been very interested in seeing Jedi for the first time. Are all Jedi trained to be facilitators or do you have many different callings?"

The conversation turned toward a chat about the general training all Jedi received and had drifted into a mutual dialog about the Force and Whedin spirituality when the others returned to reconvene.

Qui-Gon was glad that the Whedins had decided to retain their seats near he and Obi-Wan as he was still the target of icy glares from many. He was pleased to note that a few of the state representatives were looking thoughtfully at the tangled huddle of four napping snakes on the table.

"The session is now reconvened." Brin gave a single soft tap of his gavel. "Secretary Staltef, please review what we have so far."

Leesha put a summary up on the screens. Some progress had been made in trading off initial lower taxes due to the higher than expected development costs, four potential mine head sites and three potential refinery sites had been proposed, and watershed areas to be protected had been mostly agreed on.

Then the slog continued.

Bit by bit, Brin and Leesha chipped away at the opposition, drawing very grudging compromises like impacted teeth from abscessed jaws. 

By third hour, sentences had given way to words between yawns and dull expressions.

"You've all put in a lot of hard work, but it appears it's time to grab a few hours of sleep." Brin's expression was almost cheerful. "Partitions in the annex have been set up between areas of cots, every cot has sheets, blankets, two towels and a personal hygiene kit. Where the buffet was set up, there are stacks of sleeping gowns in various sizes. Sergeant Velogas is standing by in the annex room if you want to have any personal messages sent, including if you want fresh clothes provided. Breakfast will be served at ninth hour. Session is suspended until tenth hour. Thank you."

Brin gave a last quick gavel and both he and Leesha headed immediately for the annex before anyone could think fast enough to object.

There was a short period of desultory bustling about as people claimed cots, used freshers and settled in. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan joined the Whedins and Katorin in a screened area near the door.

Used to often operating with little sleep, both Jedi were awake by seventh hour and, after attending to personal hygiene, decided to return to the conference room to meditate in the early sunlight, with Shamas snuggled into Qui-Gon's tunics. They were both surprised to see Leesha already standing before the windows, staring out. Chago was sitting on her shoulder, nestled into her neck.

"Good morning," said Qui-Gon quietly.

Leesha blinked a few times before turning. "Oh, hi. Chago and I were just enjoying the light. Looking out, seeing the city and the lands beyond… it helps me remember why I do this job." She sighed. "How's Shamas doing?"

"Quite well." Qui-Gon patted the bulge in the front of his tunics. "She had some protein chunks and went back to sleep."

"Leesha, I know Shamas is a complication in our lives that none of us expected, but is this going to cause problems with you being able to keep your job?" Obi-Wan's voice reflected genuine concern.

"It wouldn't be easy to get me impeached and those who already don't like me have sent very pointed emails, accusing me of manipulating the noecton single session since I obviously knew about Shamas before I began pushing for that." She shrugged. "If we can pull this off and get all three of you safely off the planet, then I shall be able to fade back into relative obscurity well before the next election for this office. If I can make that and the noecton draft agreement happen for Guthy, I'll count it as worth the aggravation and be happy to stay in the background. It's an obscure position to most of the voters, but I like to think I help make things a little better for our planet."

"I have no doubts that you do. Is there anything we can do to help?" asked Qui-Gon.

"Just pretty much what you've been doing, staying inconspicuous. The noecton negotiations are something I know how to do and Guthy will get them to the finish line on that, but I honestly still don't know how we're going to resolve the Companion problem. The Whedins and Katorin seem to be on our side, which isn't all that surprising as we are technically all outworlders to our indigenous peoples, and I think they like you. A few people might be starting to come around, but most of the others right now all think you are evil incarnate and surely must have somehow coerced that poor little snake into thinking she wanted you."

"Well, it's not the first time we've been maligned and attacked for something that we didn’t do." Qui-Gon shook his head. "Let's hope we can get to a legal solution that lets Obi-Wan and me go home with Shamas."

"Amen to that." Leesha blew out a big breath. "Anyway, I have work to do, so I'd best go pretend to be the President and use Guthy's passwords to check on how breakfast is coming and get our files up to date."

During breakfast, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan kept a low profile, but took careful note of who was talking to whom and where potential alliances seemed to be developing. They suspected Guthy Brin and Leesha were even further ahead of them in recognizing new opportunities since they knew so many of these people better than the Jedi did.

When the session reconvened, they began with a review of what had been accomplished so far. Apparently, at least some of the various off-line discussions had been fruitful.

The first breakthrough was an offer from Theora Jolier's group to establish two refineries, each in a different state and sited to minimize waste containment issues, and only two initial mineheads, both well away from Whedin lands and the most critical watersheds, but situated to minimize needs for new roads between a minehead and an associated refinery. During the rest of the morning, this was the new theme. Two of the previously unaligned states chimed in with support for building two small air transport centers to help reduce the need for major new roads to get the refined noectin directly to the starport. Theora allowed as to how they were very interested in engaging some engineering firms from various states to help design and build the containment and waste reduction facilities.

The prospect of adding jobs in several parts of the planet made lunch much more lively and there were relatively few complaints about the ongoing sequester.

Brin had spent most of lunch with the three planetary-level Councilors. The result of that conversation was a proposal from the senior Councilor of a commission to establish development credits to offset taxes on the first three years of profits, to be reduced on a sliding scale. The credits would include offsets for jobs created, new technologies implemented to reduce waste and adherence to environmental protection. Theora's group held out for a longer period, with the group eventually settling for four years and two members from the mining community to have membership in the commission.

Honeelas Gnipl was not to be left out of the dickering. If there were to be credits for development, then there also must be penalties for not adhering to environmental protection. This argument went on for much of the rest of the afternoon, but eventually resulted in agreeing to a planetary government level oversight group specific to the noecton locations with authority to enforce laws and impose fines separate from the current general enforcement agency. Membership would include representatives from states potentially impacted by the noecton mining and refining as well as at least two members from the development consortium and at least 25% funded by noecton consortium.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were both impressed at how adeptly Brin adapted his style to the flow of the new day's work, pushing more subtly than previously, adding hints about even more possibilities for new jobs to support the larger scale of operations, tossing in references to existing laws where necessary and coming back again and again to build on points of agreement. Leesha kept information flowing, building the agreement on the fly and keeping the wall screens of data and words moving to support his efforts.

The group seemed to develop momentum as more people engaged in the discussion and words became more encouraging. They voluntarily opted for a working dinner, barely noticing as security people brought in food and then cleared things away. 

Just after twentieth hour, Brin called for a full review of the draft agreement. 

For the next thirty minutes, he carefully read section by section. There were tweaks, changes to words, but no major dissent.

"Clearly there are many more details to be worked out as we get more information, but it seems we have reached a good compromise that will enable all parties to continue their planning and development new partnerships. A copy will be sent to each of the elected planetary and state representatives. This draft agreement will be presented to the full government assembly for review and action when it convenes in 26 days." Brin looked around the table. "Is there any representative here who cannot, in good faith, support this broad outline of action at the assembly?"

Silence reigned for thirty seconds.

"Very well. I thank everyone for the hard work you have put it in. This type of new effort will greatly benefit Klaon and her people."

There was a round of applause, but the good feelings were already dissipating.

"So this session is now over?" asked Gnipl.

"The official session is over. If, however, you are asking if I'm going to turn communications back on, we do have another issue to discuss."

"You mean that outlander and that snake, right?"

"I mean the Companion who has chosen a partner that many of you disagree with." Brin held up a hand. "You all need to consider what's going to happen out there if everyone starts yelling about this. You know how people in this room reacted, with anger and attempted violence, to the point that the Companion felt she had to protect her partner. If we are not able to come up with a solution, multiply that anger several hundred times. Which one of you wants to lead the mob that tries to harm a Companion and a Jedi Master if they are out on the street? What happens, if in that indiscriminate anger, they harm or even kill the Companion?" He pointed. "You? You? Or you?"

People stirred uneasily in their seats.

Shamas had climbed from her carrier to Qui-Gon's neck, as if aware of what was being discussed and not wanting to miss anything. Qui-Gon reached up to scratch her chin as he sent soothing thoughts. He felt Obi-Wan's support over their bond and gave him a small smile.

"First point, no laws have been broken. While the situation is, as far as we know, unprecedented, there is no law against a Companion choosing any person from anywhere. The laws we have in place are meant to protect all potential Companion species from export and exploitation. It appears to me that there are a few potential solutions involving creating exceptions to existing export or citizenship laws, but it would require the entire general assembly to create and approve something like that."

"Once you start making exceptions, where do you stop?"

And that set off another hour of vehement arguments.

Qui-Gon sat quietly and simply watched and listened, frustrated by his inability to influence the outcome, but he abided by his agreement to let Brin and Leesha handle this. The Whedins had again taken the seats nearest the Jedi after lunch and seemed remarkably undisturbed by all the arguing. Shamas clearly felt there was no imminent attack being fomented and had once more ventured out onto the table to join the Whedin Companions.

The discussion was still going strong when Qui-Gon saw Mashhoo stiffen slightly and close his eyes. He seemed to be listening… whatever he heard made him smile. He opened his eyes and leaned forward toward Qui-Gon.

"This will be resolved soon, Master Jinn." He nodded and settled back into his chair.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan looked at each other in bafflement, then shrugged.

Ten minutes later there was a frantic beeping on Brin's control board. He flipped a switch. 

"Yes, Captain Optan. Is there a security problem?"

"Yes, sir. We have four unknown persons in the building and they are heading for your area."

"Are they hostile? Can you stop them?"

"Um, I know this is going to sound weird, but I can see on the monitors that my people along the route are getting this goofy grin on their faces and letting them pass. I'm heading there myself as we speak."

"Master, do you sense it?" Obi-Wan said urgently in a low voice.

"Yes, a very solid presence, similar to the Force, coming this way." Qui-Gon's brow furrowed, he had felt something like that recently… he looked down and saw that all of the snakes on the table were upright, heads facing the door. "It feels a bit like Shamas, but is getting incredibly stronger."

The Whedins and Katorin were all on their feet now, so Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan did likewise.

"Do not be alarmed, President Brin," said Mashhoo. "There is no danger to your people."

"What the hell is going –" Brin's words were cut off by the reluctant shriek of locked doors opening.

The room fell totally silent as four beings entered. One was a Whedin in a smart business tunic and two were young, particularly large female Whedins in native sarongs.

The final person felt vaguely familiar to Qui-Gon and was clearly the source of the powerful mental emanations.

She was tall and broad, with bronze/red skin, long black hair, and exquisite tattoos of snakes covering both arms and her neck. Moving about her body were two large snakes, a black constrictor and a highly venomous, bright yellow tapir.

The woman stopped near the end of the table and surveyed all the people for a moment. As she did, both snakes slipped onto the table, then began to slowly make their way along the center as she began walking toward the other end.

The Whedins and Katorin all bowed very low.

"Welcome, Seshayasha," said Mashhoo. "We know that you rarely leave the forest and are very grateful that you accepted our plea for assistance."

"One of my children is involved." Seshayasha's voice was melodic, a lilting tone that rose and fell like a soft breeze. "No harm must come to her." She moved to the table where the four Companions seemed to be eagerly waiting. She lifted and caressed the first three, whispering softly in an unknown language, before she turned to Shamas.

"Ah, my little young one," she murmured as she held Shamas in her hands. "Speak to me of what you have done." 

While Seshaysha communed with Shamas, everyone else in the room was absolutely still, which may have been primarily due to the tapir's flicking tongue as it moved up the table. Brin did very carefully rise to face Seshaysha, although he kept a wary eye on the golden snake.

"Ummm…" Brin cleared his throat. "Sera Seshaysha, how may we help you?"

Qui-Gon silently gave Brin points for courage, even as he was burning with curiosity about the strange woman and the incredible power he felt emanating from her.

"Sera?" Seshaysha laughed. "I use not such terms. You are the Brin, chief of your peoples?"

"I am President Brin, yes. If I may ask, are you Guardian Seshaysha, from the great forest of Whedin?"

"I have been named such." She stroked Shamas gently. "I understand that this young one has done something puzzling to you?"

"Not quite how I'd put it, but yes, she has chosen an outworlder and it is against our laws for her to be removed from this planet to go with the outworlder."

Seshaysha crooned a few words to Shamas, then turned to Qui-Gon. "You are the Chosen for my little girl?"

"Yes, she came to me. I assure you I did nothing to make that happen. I did not even understand what was happening until it was explained to me."

Seshaysha nodded slowly as she stared closely at Qui-Gon. "You are a Jedi?"

"I am Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. This is my apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi. We are from the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant."

"I sense much power in you." She gave a small nod toward Obi-Wan. "Both of you are very powerful." She narrowed one eye. "You have the ability to make these others let you go to your ship with my little girl. Why did you not simply do so?"

Obi-Wan's comment about being too gods-damned ethical flashed through Qui-Gon's mind as he bowed slightly in the direction of Brin and Leesha. "Firstly, we were sent here to assist the Klaonans with a negotiation, so I had an obligation to stay and do that job. Then, when Shamas came to me, I did not know what to do. Secretary Staltef helped me to understand what was happening and how to take care of my new Companion. Then, she and President Brin undertook to try to get a legal way to let me return home with Shamas. I did not feel it was ethical to let them get in trouble by simply forcing my way out."

"You are a good man. I find you to be very worthy." Seshaysha held Shamas up. "My little girl is a strange one, so perhaps it was meant to be that she found you. She wants to fly among the stars, not just in trees here. The spirits found her a match. It is good."

Qui-Gon was feeling a bit dumbfounded as Shamas was handed back to him, but his Companion seemed to be radiating happiness as she wrapped herself around his neck and rubbed her head against his beard.

"Thank you, Seshaysha. I shall try to remain worthy of her company."

"Excuse me, but we still have a problem here," said Brin. "Our laws are meant to protect all reptiles, and we don't have any exceptions that could apply to Master Jinn since no outworlder has ever been chosen."

"I care not for your laws. My people were here first, and you should remember that more often. But, for Shamas's sake, I will point out the obvious solution – make Jinn a citizen."

"We already thought about that, but our citizenship laws require a minimum of five years residency. I understand that Master Jinn needs to return to Coruscant, but it would take the entire assembly to make an exception to the laws for export or citizenship. Either way, a lot of people will be very upset." He made a defensive shrug. "The laws were made with good intentions to protect any potential Companions, which I will point out was part of the original treaty requirements when our people were graciously welcomed to your planet."

Seshaysha seemed to consider that for a very long moment as a nervous anticipation built in the room. She'd already demonstrated a considerable amount of power, and people were growing jittery about how else she might use it if she was displeased.

"Woolathan."

The Whedin in the sharp business suit stepped closer to her.

"These treaties. They place no limitations on our people with Companions?"

"No, they do not. All matters dealing with Companions were specifically left as internal affairs for all of our peoples."

"No limitations at all?"

"None whatsoever."

"Thank you."

Seshaysha regarded Qui-Gon as he scratched Shamas's chin.

"Master Jinn, there is another way. I believe you have the power and ability to take this path if you are willing. I offer the rite of passage that will make you one of the Whedin people. I must warn you, however, that the Trial of Dark and Light is difficult."

"If it would mean I could take Shamas home, then I will undertake it." Qui-Gon hesitated a bare instant. "May I ask what this trial is?"

"Dark and Light are my two Companions." Seshaysha gestured toward her two snakes. "Twenty-four hours with Nuros, to commune with her so she does not kill you." The constrictor raised up and hissed. "Then a single bite from Porsha." The tapir flicked her tongue. "Survive both, and you will be one of us."

"You've got to be kidding," interrupted Leesha. "A single drop of tapir venom can kill the biggest animals immediately."

Seshaysha ignored the outburst and stared steadily at Qui-Gon. "You have the strength and the power of your Force if you believe fully."

Qui-Gon's hand stilled until Shamas butted at it to get him to resume scratching. "I am a Jedi Master, and the Force will give me the strength. I agree to your offer."

"Then it shall be done. We leave now."

"Hey, how do we know he's really going to do it?" A particularly hard-headed state representative, Mojus, spit the words out. "Most people don't even believe SHE exists."

"The word of Seshaysha is good enough for all of us." Brin bit his lip for a moment. "I do believe you're going to do this, Qui-Gon…" He looked at Seshaysha. "But everyone in this room does know about Shamas, and, well, I don't want to be a jerk about this… is it all possible to get some tangible proof to present to our government? I'd like to be able to get some kind of documentation for Qui-Gon in case there are any questions about him taking Shamas home with him."

Seshaysha looked very much like she wanted to roll her eyes and emit some choice words, but she refrained. "If this is what you deal with, Brin, you have my sympathy. The trial will begin at end of day tomorrow. Two observers will be allowed." She pointed at Leesha and the hard head who had spoken. "Also, the apprentice Kenobi is allowed. Chief Mashhoo will make the arrangements." She waved an imperious hand. "Master Jinn, we leave now."

Qui-Gon had only time for a quick "bring some clean clothes" to Obi-Wan before he was pulled along in the wake of the departing Guardian. 

They went back up to the top of the building. The few security people they passed just grinned and waved at Seshaysha. They got into a large flyer, which was piloted by Woolathan. Five hours later they landed at a clearing a half-kilometer from the main Whedin village. There were already two small flyers parked under trees. Seshaysha and her two followers vanished into the main forest and Woolathan took Qui-Gon into the village.

The tribal shaman took Qui-Gon under his wing after Woolathan explained the situation to him. He showed Qui-Gon to a sleeping room near the hot-spring-fed bathing tubs and then they sat down to a late meal.

"It is a great honor to be offered the trial, Master Jinn. It is very rare for the Guardian to leave the forest, but she will do much for her children, as she thinks of the snakes. Did she explain what the rite of Dark and Light involves?"

"Only very briefly. It apparently involves her two snakes, yes?"

"Yes. It is the same rite that every new candidate for guardian undergoes. There will first be a ritual bathing and meditation during the afternoon. I will oversee that portion. As the sun first begins to set, Nuros will be given permission to attack you. Her instinct is to kill, so as a constrictor she will wrap herself around you. In this part of the rite, to protect yourself you must establish a communion with Nuros in the spirit and convince her not to squeeze hard enough to kill. She is remarkably persistent, so you will need to maintain that communion until the sun begins to set again. Seshaysha will call her off at that time."

"Sounds tiring but doable. And the Light?"

"You will have another ritual bathing and meditation. You will be allowed only food and water provided by me to ensure you have not ingested any anti-venom. At sunrise, you will face Porsha and she will be allowed to strike you once. Her venom is very powerful, so she doesn't inject much, but it works quickly. You will need to be strong and react swiftly."

Qui-Gon nodded thoughtfully. "I have been trained to metabolize a wide range of poisons. I shall include that in my meditations."

They finished their meal and Qui-Gon left to clean up and get some sleep. Shamas was a comforting presence under his blankets.

*** *** ***

The next morning was warm and bright. Qui-Gon enjoyed meeting many of the other tribespeople over a pleasant breakfast of grain cereals, fruits and bread. They were all quite impressed with the fact that Seshaysha herself had intervened in his situation and were quite willing to talk about the forest and Seshaysha's role as a guardian. Shamas happily met with several other Companions as they shared bits of meat. 

Qui-Gon was generally left to himself to rest or explore as he chose until mid-afternoon. The shaman met him at the bathing area with two of his assistants. He was bathed and massaged slowly, then dressed in a simple loincloth. Qui-Gon was then taken to a spot in the forest where the sun was bright to meditate.

An hour before sunset, one of the shaman's assistants fetched him for a light meal. He found that Chief Mashhoo had returned with Obi-Wan, Leesha and Mojus. Qui-Gon ate separately, but they all joined together about fifteen minutes before sunset began at a grassy clearing, the shaman and Mashhoo being part of the group of observers.

"How are you doing, Master?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Quite well, actually. I've had a good day and spent much of it meditating and considering how to go about this first trial. I should be able to make contact with Nuros before she can do any damage; after that, it will be a matter of focus and concentration."

"But what about the second part?" Leesha. She seemed anxious. "Tapirs are incredibly fast and their venom takes effect in seconds. Obi-Wan explained to me how you can metabolize toxins, but I've seen how quickly a tapir can take down even big animals."

"I have been thinking about that also, but I shall be prepared and I believe I can handle it. Don't worry, my meditations have been very positive and the Force will guide me." He scratched Shamas before putting her in her carrier and closing it; she was not allowed to participate, but Qui-Gon could still feel her presence in his mind.

Seshaysha appeared from between two large trees. Nuros was draped around her.

The shaman bowed. "All is ready for the rite to begin."

Seshaysha nodded and approached Qui-Gon where he sat cross-legged in the grass.

"Qui-Gon Jinn, Master of the Jedi, do you still wish to partake in the rite of Dark and Light?"

"I do."

"Once I release Nuros, she will be freed from my order not to kill you. I shall not call her back until this time tomorrow. Do you still wish to partake in the rite of Dark and Light?"

"I do."

Seshaysha looked around the clearing. "Qui-Gon Jinn of the Jedi is participating in this rite of his own free will. No one may interfere for any reason. Is there any person here who cannot follow that rule?" She waited until everyone present had agreed.

Nuros slipped off to coil on the ground. Seshaysha knelt briefly and caressed the snake's head before rising.

"The rite begins." Seshaysha disappeared into the trees, but Qui-Gon could still feel her presence in the area.

Qui-Gon quickly had to focus on the big constrictor slithering toward him. He was required to let her begin wrapping herself around him initially, but he used that time to reach out to try to make contact.

Warm. Wanted warm. Hungry. 

Pressure began to build. Qui-Gon knew he needed to keep Nuros's head away from him so she couldn't sink her recurve teeth into flesh; he grabbed her head with one hand. He needed to keep enough room to be able to breathe, so he positioned one arm to try to catch the coils before they got too tight around his chest.

Force, she was even stronger than he had thought. Qui-Gon took a few quick breaths and focused harder.

There! Those thoughts again – warm, hungry. She was more elusive than he had thought, but he could redirect his thoughts, almost like thinking from a different perspective…

WARM. HUNGRY.

Qui-Gon latched onto that thought stream and began working on slightly diverting them.

Hungry?

Feel good, feel warm… again and again Qui-Gon sent thoughts through the connection he had opened. He began to get the rhythm of Nuro's thought patterns, enough to keep compressions not as tight.

The first few hours were not too bad and Qui-Gon ever so slowly opened the connection a bit more. He knew he would get tired with so many hours yet to go, so he began gradually drawing on his memories of how Shamas felt over their link when she was sleeping. 

Through the night, Qui-Gon kept a trickle of energy flowing, sending thoughts of warmth and relaxation.

Around dawn Qui-Gon suddenly realized he had let the connection get too shallow when Nuros began moving, almost getting a bite of him and tightening coils. He poured more energy back into the link, delicately balancing warmth and pleasure while reducing the hunger impulse.

By mid-day, Qui-Gon was getting distracted by his own bodily needs, but he ruthlessly shoved weariness and thirst into a closed box. The sun was high, which actually turned out to be a bit of an advantage when the sun physically warmed Nuros, allowing him to focus more on belaying hunger impulses.

He lost a bit more concentration in late afternoon, a moment of inattention costing him a few more precious inches of room to breathe as Nuros increased her squeezing. He quickly got things back under control, but he was constrained by the need for shallower breaths.

Qui-Gon risked a glance at the sky. He was tired, very tired, but he was heartened by the low angle of the sun. Just hang on, keep on hanging on…

One more breath. One more pulse of soothing thought. One more. And one more.

"Qui-Gon Jinn."

It took Qui-Gon over a minute to realize that the pressure was gone.

"It is over."

Qui-Gon sucked in a deep breath, then three more. He reached for the hand in front of him to sit up. He looked around – Seshaysha was kneeling in front of him, but Nuros was nowhere in sight.

"You have passed the first part of the rite. It is time to rest."

"Thank you." The shaman came over to help Qui-Gon to his feet.

"At the dawn I will return." Seshaysha nodded and returned to the forest.

It was heaven to drink all the pure, clean water that he wanted and bliss to soak in the heated spring water.

"Is there anything I can do to help, Master?" Obi-Wan was sitting six feet away as the shaman's sharp eyes kept watch to ensure the apprentice wasn't passing on any anti-venom.

"Your company is all I need, but thank you." Qui-Gon gave a wry grin. "Sleep will be nice, too. That was a very long night and day."

"It was, Master. For all of us. Leesha was quite worried about you, but I assured her that you were very strong. I think she feels guilty they weren't able to get a better solution to allow you to take Shamas with us."

"I have no doubt she and Guthy Brin would have found something eventually, but this way is much faster and hopefully will avoid all the acrimony about outworlders and Companions."

"I did some research on the tapirs before we came out here." Obi-Wan looked troubled. "They are just as fast and deadly as we were told. Nobody has ever survived to tell people what it felt like when they were first bitten, although the autopsies suggested the venom attacks neural nerves. I don't have any advice for you, except perhaps to be prepared for the initial shock."

"I appreciate your work, but I shall meditate some more on this."

"There is one piece of good news, Master. President Brin had to release the information about you and Shamas to their general assembly since so many people at the noectin conference already knew. He framed it such that you are apparently being considered some sort of hero for risking your life with the rite to be able to keep Shamas with you. That man is very good with words and I suspect he is softening them up to give us whatever sort of export paper we need to get out of here."

Qui-Gon laughed. "Guthy Brin is indeed good at manipulating people. He and Leesha make a good pair." He thought a moment. "It might not hurt if I come out looking all pale and half-dead," he said with a straight face. "Increase the sympathy factor by quite a bit that way."

"Just make sure it's no more than half dead, Master, or I will make sure the Healers keep you for at least a month to nurse you back to health." Obi-Wan had a stern expression which was threatening to break into a smile.

"Perish the thought!" Qui-Gon turned serious. "The Force will guide me. We will see this through, Obi-Wan."

"Yes, Master."

The dawn light was just breaking as their group returned to the grassy clearing. Qui-Gon gave everyone a reassuring smile and went to the center to lie down and prepare himself. 

From his meditations, Qui-Gon had drawn a strategy to temper Porsha's strike. He began slowing his metabolism, a breath at a time. He had reasoned that the slower his body functions, the more time he would have before the venom could move through his body to do vital damage.

Slower and slower, feeling blood become more sluggish and hearing the individual beats of his heart. He was still aware of his surroundings, however.

Seshaysha appeared again from between two large trees. Porsha was draped around her this time.

The shaman bowed. "All is ready for the rite to begin."

Seshaysha nodded and approached Qui-Gon where he lay in the grass.

"Qui-Gon Jinn, Master of the Jedi, do you still wish to partake in the rite of Dark and Light?"

"I do."

"Once I release Porsha, she will approach and make one strike. I will not change the effects of her venom. Do you still wish to partake in the rite of Dark and Light?"

"I do."

Seshaysha looked around the clearing. "Qui-Gon Jinn of the Jedi is participating in this rite of his own free will. No one may interfere for any reason. Is there any person here who cannot follow that rule?" She waited until everyone present had agreed again.

Porsha slipped off to coil on the ground. Seshaysha knelt briefly and caressed the golden snake's head before rising. This time she stayed as Porsha turned and began to slither toward the recumbent Jedi.

Qui-Gon withdrew even further, the beats of his heart coming as singular occurrences.

Badub. A breath. Badub. A breath. Badub. A breath.

He waited, focused and intent.

The golden snake was a foot away from Qui-Gon. It seemed puzzled by the apparently comatose body before her. Another moment's hesitation, then a lightning strike on the left arm.

PAIN shrieked Qui-Gon's nerves. PAIN. 

Broken glass shredding his nerves. White hot steel needles puncturing his veins.

Qui-Gon hadn't counted on the first reaction being pain instead of paralysis. He called on the Force and with fierce determination forced his mind to still and his nerves to quiet.

Pain pain pain pain pain pain

The steady throb he could deal with and he fought past the distraction, fighting to locate the venom.

Badub. ... ... A breath.

Badub. ... ... ... A breath.

Time seemed to stop and nothing else mattered.

His arm. Left arm. Middleofhisbicep. There!

Badub. ... ... A breath.

Ah! Good. The tiny blazing drops of liquid sunshine had not made it into any major blood vessels.

Badub. ... ... .... A breath.

Qui-Gon brought to bear all the incredible concentration of a Jedi master. Drop by drop, he captured each one and forced it change, metabolizing the deadly substance into harmless components.

Badub.

Another drop, drifting harmlessly away to be absorbed. And another.

Search harder, there must be more. The pain is still there.

Got you! Draw on the Force, using final reserves. There, metabolized, harmless.

Qui-Gon finally allowed the fight to ebb, victory achieved.

Wait. Why did he not feel better.

Oh. Right. Almost forgot.

Badub.

Badub. ... .... ...... A breath.

That's better.  


Badub. ... A breath. Badub. A breath.

Qui-Gon drifted off to restoring sleep, totally unaware of the people trying to administer CPR who were pulled off by his apprentice, who stood fiercely on guard because he could feel Qui-Gon coming back on his own through their bond.

Sunshine warm on his face. A cool cloth on his forehead. Something scaly wrapped around his neck.

Qui-Gon realized he was very, very tired. Sleep, that's what he needed.

What was that noise? Somebody calling his name?

"Qui-Gon. Come on, I know you're in there. Please talk to me."

Qui-Gon reluctantly opened his eyes. A blurry figure slowly cleared. "Obi-Wan?"

"Yes." Obi-Wan turned his head to direct his comments somewhere else. "See, I told you he was going to be alright."

Qui-Gon groaned as he tried to sit up. He propped his arms back for support. "I feel like I got run over by two herds of banthas." He squinted as he looked up.

Seshaysha and Mashhoom were standing near his feet, both with smiles.

"Congratulations," said Seshaysha. She knelt down and put her hand on his left arm, pressing gently for a moment.

The sharp pain in his arm that Qui-Gon hadn't noticed disappeared.

"Oh. That's… that's much better. Thank you."

"You are now Qui-Gon Jinn of the Whedin tribe," said Mashhoo. "There will be a feast in your honor tonight to celebrate."

Leesha came over, talking into a comm. "Yes, I told you. He survived and now he's an official Whedin." She listened a minute. "Yeah, sure. Hang on."

Leesha put the comm by Qui-Gon's mouth. "Say something to Guthy. He wants to know you're really still alive."

"Hello."

"Qui-Gon? It's really you?" came the tinny voice.

"This is really me. I am really Qui-Gon Jinn and I could use several bottles of that blue stuff Leesha keeps in her office."

"Yep, that's really you. Fantastic. Katorin has been talking you up to the general assembly, all about your devotion to your Companion and risking your life and all that. Even though you don't really need them now, I'm sure we'll have some export papers for Shamas in a couple of days, just to keep everybody happy."

"Wonderful. Thank you." Qui-Gon felt himself dropping back to the ground. "Gonna sleep now."

*** *** ***

When their ship arrived on Coruscant, a message from the Temple directed the two Jedi to report immediately to the veterinary ward.

Qui-Gon grimaced, wondering what sort of bureaucratic maze he was going to have to run. Obi-Wan just grinned.

They turned the ship over to the maintenance crew, then grabbed their packs to catch a local transport. Shamas consented to ride in her thermal bag, which Qui-Gon looped over his shoulder under his robe.

The veterinary ward was a small place, normally devoted to care of creatures that roamed the Temple gardens; it also conducted research on species Jedi might encounter on missions. A padawan directed them to an examination room.

A humanoid, dark and slender, was seated at a desk when they went in. 

"Master Jinn?"

"Yes, that's me. We were told to report here."

"Ah, yes. I'm Healer Vornof. We received a notification that you are in possession of a restricted reptile from Klaon. If I understand the situation, it is what they call a 'Companion', which has formed some sort of bond with you, which means you will be keeping it with you here in the Temple. Is that correct?"

"Yes." Qui-Gon pulled a data disk that held his hard-won papers from a belt pouch. "I have copies of the approval of the export by the Klaonan authorities as an exception to their laws." He handed the disk to the healer and left it at that, with no desire to get into all the details about how he was now actually a member of the Whedin tribe so the export license was just a formality. He also refrained from scratching the new still-healing snake tattoo on his left arm, another souvenir of their trip to Klaon.

Vornof took the disk and put it in a datapad. He perused the contents for a few minutes, then nodded. "The legal aspect seems to be quite in order. Tell me, Master Jinn, do you intend to keep the reptile in your quarters or do you wish to let it exercise in the gardens?"

"I plan to have her with me when I meditate in the gardens and I suspect she might like to climb trees so she can glide between them. Given how closely attached she is to me, I think it highly unlikely that she would attempt to leave the Temple, or even venture very far from me."

"Alright. I'll need to examine the reptile, please."

Qui-Gon got Shamas out of her bag by sticking his hand in and letting her coil around his wrist. He then put his hand down on a gently heated tray and coaxed her to uncoil by sending encouraging messages. He scratched her chin as the healer scanned her and then very slowly ran two fingers down the length of her body.

"She seems very healthy. Her characteristics match the documentation for age of about fourteen months. No diseases or parasites noted." Vornof made one more pass, this time even more slowly. He stopped with his hand on the lower third of Shamas's length. He frowned, then closed his eyes and seemed to be concentrating.

"Is there a problem?" Qui-Gon had a sudden spike of concern, but Shamas seemed to be oblivious.

The healer pulled his hand away, then cocked his head. "Master Jinn, I do believe your little friend here is pregnant. I detected several eggs developing."

"No, that can't be. I was assured that she wouldn't be able to reproduce until she was older."

"Nope. Definitely pregnant. At least twelve eggs."

Shamas lifted her top half and gave Qui-Gon a smug look as a feeling of joy saturated their connection.

Qui-Gon groaned, thinking of the paperwork and complications a dozen farting little fiends probably meant, and glared at his laughing padawan.

finis


End file.
